We started Northwest Noggin as parents in 2012, exploring summer educational opportunities offered by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), “Saturday Academy” and other nonprofits. These programs were prohibitively expensive, and with two kids each and limited income they were not accessible options for either Noggin co-founder at the time.
And of course we’re not alone. Admission and tuition costs are out of reach for many people.
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While OMSI, like Noggin, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with a beautifully stated mission to “create learning experiences these walls can’t contain — bringing science to as many people as possible, no matter who or where they are,” the reality is clearly different than what carefully chosen words imply. OMSI doesn’t go to you, you go to them. And when you get there you’re charged 11-$20+ for admission, and ONE turkey sandwich at the re-opened Theory Restaurant reportedly sets you back 24 bucks!
Recently we heard from a teacher at Portland’s private Catlin Gabel School, who asked if we’d visit their first through fifth grade classes to talk about neuroscience, a subject they’ll study this spring. A quick look at their website revealed that the annual tuition for a first grader is a jaw-dropping $35,900! But as at OMSI, “…we are committed to making a Catlin Gabel education affordable and accessible.”
Affordable. Accessible. No matter who or where you are. The marketing language is top notch, the best that admission and tuition dollars can buy. In contrast, we don’t charge and, from Art and Neuroscience Coordinators to our legions of informed and enthusiastic student participants, our interdisciplinary neuroscience efforts remain entirely volunteer.
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LEARN MORE: Brains to the Streets!
Let knowledge serve!
Despite all the bloated institutional newspeak, we absolutely LOVE bringing art, noggins and scicomm volunteers to the annual, jam-packed OHSU BRAIN FAIR, set inside OMSI, because unlike the museum it’s FREE! (and we also invited the Catlin Gabel folks to join us, as everyone is welcome at Brain Fair, without charge :))
“We drove all the way from Eugene for this – and it’s not only free, but so much better than anything we had to pay to see in the museum!”
— Visitor at the 2023 OHSU Brain Fair @ OMSI
This year’s Brain Fair is the first since 2020! And the 2020 Fair was the last big public event we’d joined before COVID-19 shuttered Brain Fairs (and a lot more!) in 2021 and 2022.
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LEARN MORE: Pipe Cleaners, Gel Prints, Electrodes & Brains!
Thank you PARC, OBI and Noggin volunteers!
We are hugely thankful for the Portland Alcohol Research Center (PARC) at OHSU, which piled our tables full of pipe cleaners, ink, electrodes and nitrile gloves, and for the OHSU Brain Institute (OBI), which provided pizza and coffee for close to 30 Northwest Noggin volunteers!
Our extraordinary, OBI-fueled crew included Isabella Starr, Asha Powell-Stormberg, Shae Zeimantz, Simeon Novak, Leslie Salazar, Daniella Merid, Allonte Barakat, Julian Rodriguez, Annabella Showerman, Jasmine Bradley, Sami Wagner, Rebecca Chevrel, Kadi Rae Smith, Tonia Bautista, Martin Lemke, Bradley Marxmiller, Ben Bolen and Kristin Preston, all undergraduates studying interdisciplinary neuroscience at Portland State University, Travis Christian, a recent PSU graduate, Aaron Eisen, Randall Olson and Dr. Denesa Lockwood from OHSU, Ben Bui and Shelby Hansen from Legacy Research Institute, Reed Hall from Western University of Health Sciences and artist Kindra Crick.
Making art
Neurons and glia proliferated at Brain Fair, in both pipe cleaners and ink!
MAKE YOUR OWN: Pipe Cleaner Brain Cells!
MAKE YOUR OWN: Brain Cell Gel Prints
Repairing our noggins
We also offered a “brain repair” station, where our large styrofoam right cerebral hemisphere, created (along with a left hemisphere) by PSU graduate and Noggin volunteer Ashley Keates and special effects artist Max Barsana, got re-painted and patched!
LEARN MORE: Building a Brain for Science
Rhythms and waves!
We also explored the power of wave energy to organize matter (and impact our brains). Randall Olson, who will speak soon on this topic along with a PA cardiologist and a Columbia River bar pilot at the Fort George Brewery in Astoria on Tuesday, April 18th, created his own mesmerizing cymatics demonstration! Sound waves of varying frequencies in air dramatically altered liquid motion.
“As a mechanical wave, sound can contain complicated information.”
— Visualization and Reconstruction of Music with a Microfluidic Two-Phase Flow
LEARN MORE: Cymatics.org
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We also wired each other together with Backyard Brains‘ popular Human to Human Interface, to explore the electrical nature of information flow in both muscles and nerves!
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Brains, Brains, Brains!
And of course there were noggins!
From Sami Wagner, PSU volunteer
Wow, that was a blast!
The Brain Fair was my first time doing art and neuroscience outreach, and I was floored by how many people came to learn with us.
Some of the most impactful moments for me were when I considered the questions people came up with while we were holding brains. Questions like “How does fentanyl use impact the brain growth and development of a fetus in utero?”, “How does hormone suppression/therapy impact the brain development of trans youth, and what are the ethics of that if there is a marked impact?”, “Where do our memories live?”, “Is synaptic pruning a bad thing?” helped me dig deep into my education and apply what I knew in a way that helped me learn and expand my own understanding of these topics, too.
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It struck me that the common understanding of the brain has been simplified down for most people in a way that gives each part of the brain a “job.” Many of the people I spoke with were surprised to learn that there are distributed parts of the brain that fire together as linked networks during different activities.
I synapsed with so many people, and made pipe cleaner neurons till my fingers were ready to fall off!
I spoke with many parents of young children who were just realizing how much their kids were learning at all times, and how they could support them with new activities, ideas, places, people. Kids pick up multiple languages, math skills, musical instrument skills, good habits and more, particularly when they’re driven by their own interests and have a chance to explore!
I loved finding new ways to teach complex topics in ways kids of different ages could understand by applying them to their own known world (“the neuron is kind of like a lamp that you can plug into the wall except it’s super tiny and there’s a ton of them and some do different things”), and I’m really excited to continue teaching through outreach this Spring.
I am grateful for the experience and I’m very glad to have participated. I loved hearing and answering some of the questions people had about the brain, and I also liked looking at some of the other exhibits that were at the fair. Thank you for creating such an amazing organization and bringing neuroscience out of the lab and into the community.
From Simeon Novak, PSU volunteer
Thank you for putting together an awesome event!
I appreciate opportunities for students like me to volunteer at events like the Brain Fair where the wonders of science are shared to community members. The excitement was palpable in the air, not only from the volunteers but the attendees as well, and you could see the connections people were making to the fascinating subject of neuroscience.
I mainly worked in the neuron pipe cleaner making station and neuron plant print area, and I really loved being able to create art and express myself creatively while connecting what I was doing to aspects of neuroscience. Learning about the world through art and hands-on activities is a great way to build neuroplasticity and form new connections.
Working with children was especially moving in that regard, as I was able to witness their interest and interaction with the material through art.
It was a little hectic at times, but definitely a rewarding experience.
It is also noteworthy to mention that the whole event in itself outside our many tables was very compelling and informational! I learned a lot about different parts of the brain and its functions from other Brain Fair presenters, which has inspired me to explore brains and neuroscience even more.
THANK YOU!
Once again a humongous thanks to our engaged interdisciplinary neuroscience volunteers, PARC at OHSU and the OHSU Brain Institute for delivering a truly accessible brain awareness educational experience for all.
