Noggin in Gaza!
2025-02-13 08:00 - 09:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | OR
WHAT: Virtual Noggin + NeuroChem Lab visit with students in the Gaza Strip
We did it!
Noggins in Gaza

A tremendous THANKS to the young students in Gaza, whose questions about racing thoughts before bed, fight or flight panic, memory, sleep, development, autism, and the power of art to heal we’ll be thinking about for a long time.
WATCH THE EVENT
And thanks to everyone for joining us today and sharing your insights and knowledge of the brain! Abdulrahman I’m so glad you could join us – thank you for arranging such a wonderful opportunity. We are super-excited to return in March. We cannot wait to see the found object brain cells the students create – just loved how several were already crafting them in earnest while today’s session was underway 😅
So excited to return next month!!
WHERE: British International School, 9835+VGG, Aldahdooh Street, Tel Al Hawa, Gaza Strip VIA ZOOM (link available to participating volunteers)
WHEN: Thursday, February 13th from 8:00 – 9:15am Pacific (6:00 – 7:15pm in Gaza); with follow up virtual visit on Tuesday, March 4 from 8:00 – 9:15am

From Abdulrahman Abou Dahesh, a Fulbright Scholar and Neuroscience Graduate Student at University of Texas at Dallas, and the founder of Neurochem Lab: “We’ll visit BIS Gaza. Neurochem Lab has provided neuroscience programs for elementary and middle school students at BIS Gaza, and Noggins will join as guest hosts to facilitate their found object brain cells outreach project…”

LEARN MORE: Found Object Brain Cells
“Elementary and middle school students will attend. The audience will be Palestinian students either in Gaza or those who have evacuated to Egypt…Now that a ceasefire is in place, the children are hopeful, and are excited to get back to learning. Yet, the emotional impact of the war persists, and the neuroscience activities we will provide will hopefully support them.”

We’re excited to meet with students and hear what they already know about brains and brain cells from their previous visits with Abdulrahman! We’re going to introduce neurons and glia, both important cell types found in our brains, and explore how they link up into networks that let us see, hear, feel, understand and appreciate each other.

We’ll introduce the found object brain cell project, and we look forward to returning to the classroom on Tuesday, March 4, to see and hear about the cells that students create, and any stories behind the materials they chose.

Some research background on the war
LEARN MORE: UN Special Committee finds Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as weapon of war
LEARN MORE: Israeli necropolitics and the pursuit of health justice in Palestine
LEARN MORE: Unbearable suffering: mental health consequences of the October 2023 Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip
LEARN MORE: Civilian mortality and damage to medical facilities in Gaza
LEARN MORE: Israel’s Unfolding Crime of Genocide of the Palestinian People & U.S. Failure to Prevent and Complicity in Genocide
This is the current state of school buildings, after destruction by Israeli forces with U.S. investment and weaponry 💔. As the school and neighborhood are both destroyed, the students in Gaza will be joining us remotely from individual camps.

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, PSU/OHSU/NW Noggin
2. Jeff Leake, PSU/NW Noggin
3. Natalie Robison, UW
4. Salma Nassar, PSU/OHSU
5. Becky Callos, PSU
6. Allan Gaither, PSU
7. Angelique Allen, University of Oregon
