Ten Noggin volunteers visited Henrietta Lacks High School in Vancouver this week, with a well-traveled bucket of human brains, to talk neuroscience with several hundred students curious about everything from gender identity, music and memory, to anxiety, brain eating amoebas and sleep…
(Picture by Alex Voigt)
Our brainy team brought in several undergraduates from Portland State University (during finals week no less!), including Shannon Kaplan, Jennifer Teachworth, Kirk Wydner, Austin Howard, Alex Voigt, Devin Christiansen, Bridgette Norris and Jacob Schoen, along with undergraduates Kimberly Engeln and Caitlin Calsbeek from WSU Vancouver…
In a classroom filled with impressive models of neurons and bodies and brains (we were jealous!), we fielded thoughtful questions about the nervous system, and how it responds to our environments, both internal and external, with complex behavioral responses…
We also created some of our signature pipe cleaner pyramidal cells… 🙂
And then we broke into smaller groups to examine anatomical models, heft formalin-fixed cerebrums, and tackle a myriad of fascinating questions about how our brains actually make us who we are…
The HeLa students asked great questions, and our undergraduates were thrilled with the chance to teach what they’ve learned in neuroscience courses at WSU Vancouver and Portland State, while gaining confidence with public speaking, and clearly communicating compelling scientific research discoveries about the brain and behavior to a new generation…
Many thanks to Susie Ridgeway, the Human Anatomy and Physiology teacher at HeLa High, for welcoming us into her classroom for a full day of brains… 🙂
LEARN MORE: HELA STUDENTS EXAMINE BRAINS FROM NW NOGGIN GROUP