Where is NW Noggin?
Our innovative graduate and undergraduate art and neuroscience volunteers are Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) Juice award-winning developing experts in science communication, synapsing for science, and teaching in schools, theaters, museums, urban and rural communities, homeless youth centers, breweries, correctional facilities, Congress and bike shop pubs! For more information see NOGGIN BLOGGIN.NW Noggin is a locally sourced, 501(c)(3) ALL-VOLUNTEER shoestring nonprofit organization. Your tax-deductible contribution supports the purchase of sheep brains, pipe cleaners, electrodes and clay for innovative, arts-integrated outreach, and helps send volunteers from local universities (including Portland State University, OHSU, and other area institutions) to public school classrooms, conferences and free community events.
DONATE HERE!
LEARN MORE: Community Neuroscience: How to Build an Outreach Organization
NW Noggin: Art + Brains
How did we get the brain?
Lakeside sits a ship
Join us in Chile in 2025!
Please join us SUMMER 2025 in Valparaíso, Chile - the home of the Humboldt squid! 🦑⚡️🧠🎨😃 We'll explore how neurons carry information, and how research in Chile (involving the squid’s giant fused axons) led to our understanding of the electrical signaling that links our experiences to the world. We’ll visit laboratories to examine the rich history and exciting present of research at the Universidad de Chile en Valparaíso, make art (including arpilleras, woven depictions of experience that help people express challenging memories and preserve them for accountability), and contribute to community engagement through Ciencia al Tiro, a local STEAM (STEM + Arts) outreach nonprofit. We may even create a public mural celebrating famed neurology patient Phineas Gage, who lived for several years after his infamous accident - and drove a stagecoach - in the city of Valpo!
LEARN MORE: LAS NEURONAS SON BACANES. APPLY HERE (PSU): Valparaiso - Arte y Cerebros en Chile APPLY HERE (NON-PSU): ARTS AND BRAINS IN CHILE
Every day is Halloween
Halloween is now always on our schedule for Noggin outreach, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Northeast Portland is one of the most creative places to spend the day! LEARN MORE FROM LAST YEAR: A Hippocampal Halloween We brought a large contingent of excited volunteers to King,…
Do salmon laugh?
Post by Jennifer Logan, Honors undergraduate in Psychology and Indigenous Nations and Native American Studies pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Jennifer is a regular volunteer participant in outreach through Northwest Noggin. We enjoyed an afternoon with curious 4th graders at Sunnyside Environmental School this fall, making…
Show me the glia!
Post by Conner Corbett, Psychology/Interdisciplinary Neuroscience graduate from Portland State University, Clinical Research Assistant at Oregon Health & Science University, PSU Neuroscience Club Alumni Advisor, and recipient of a 2024 NW Noggin Glial Grant. Funding and Politics Before you go to graduate school, please know this: funding and the university…
Missing limbs at McDaniel
Leodis McDaniel High School is where Northwest Noggin got its name! Years ago, when we began visiting classrooms with our undergraduates and graduates to talk neuroscience and make art, we joined forces briefly with a federal grant program known as GEAR UP, volunteering in the summer at what was then…
NogginFest 2024!!!
Putting on NogginFest each year as a totally free, accessible presentation of local Northwest artists, musicians and neuroscience researchers – the largest student-run celebration of interdisciplinary neuroscience in our art and brain-saturated region – isn’t an easy lift! LEARN MORE: NOGGINFEST! But we have extraordinarily creative and resourceful undergraduates at…
Why do we think too hard?
Post by Melissa Garcia, an undergraduate at Portland State University pursuing a major Psychology with a minor in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience. Why do I feel trapped in my mind? Why I can’t escape myself? Thoughts like these can impact people who live under pressure and face stress in their lives. I’ve…
Flex Your Muscles … and Your Brain!
Ben Johnston is finishing his Bachelor of Science in Applied Health and Fitness with a minor in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience at Portland State University. He previously earned an AAS degree in Exercise Science at Portland Community College. Recently, I’ve been able to join fellow students to visit OMSI (for the Brain…
Clinical Trials and Finding Hope
Post by Holly Parrish, undergraduate in Psychology and minor in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience at Portland State University. Holly volunteers as a clinical research intern for the Nuvox2 study in a clinical research lab at the Center for Neurosciences Tucson in Arizona. My name is Holly Parrish, and I am a senior…
Genetics, Behavior and Big Data
Post (and illustrations) by Ben Wall, a senior at Portland State University graduating in June, 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience. Originally from Hood River, Oregon, Ben spent ten years in forestry and two years as a case worker for the homeless…
Let it Shine!
Post by Pearl Ton, a pre-med undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minors in both Business Administration and Interdisciplinary Neuroscience at Portland State University. Hi there! My name is Pearl and I’m a premed student at Portland State University. My major is Psychology while my minors include Interdisciplinary Neuroscience and Business Administration.…
Synapsing in San Diego
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” ―Maya Angelou.
Our AMAZING volunteers organized the largest all ages Art & Neuroscience Festival in the Pacific Northwest! We offered live bands, science-inspired art, neuroscience research presentations, and the chance to ask questions and examine real brains! The fifth annual Noggin Fest helped send more young scientists and artists to the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego - and into San Diego Unified Public Schools! LEARN MORE @ Brains Beyond SfN!.