NW NOGGIN: Neuroscience outreach group (growing in networks)

Noggin @ Willamina High!
2018-03-22 09:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Willamina High School, 1100 N.E. Oaken Hills Dr., Willamina, OR, 97396, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit to Willamina High School
We did it! Brain class, meeting with principal, plus interview with school paper..!
LEARN MORE AT THIS LINK…
Brains are xumxum @ Willamina

WHERE: Willamina High School, 1100 N.E. Oaken Hills Dr., Willamina, OR 97396
WHEN: Thursday, March 22, 9:30 – 10:29am, Michelle Anderson’s 3rd period classroom; 10:45am, meeting with principal Tim France

We are returning to gorgeous Yamhill County near Grande Ronde to discuss brains and art and answer questions from high school students in Oregon Pacific Area Health Education Center Coordinator Joanne Trczinski’s Health Professions club during Willamina teacher Michelle Anderson’s 3rd period class. We’ll also meet with Willamina Principal Tim France to discuss the Native Storytelling and the Brain project, and start initial planning for a longer series of visits in the fall…

LEARN MORE: Synapses & Stories – Coyote, Grizzly & their Brains!

And we field-tested the new back saving “Arc of the Brain Event” Noggin transport chariot – built by the extraordinary metal artist Matt Cartwright…

LEARN MORE: Cartwright Design

Noggin @ Madison High!
2018-03-20 15:45 - 17:00 | Madison High School, 2735 NE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR, 97220, United States
WHAT: Noggin @ Madison High School; presentación de cerebros y arte
We did it! WATCH THIS SPACE: POST COMING SOON 🙂

WHERE: Madison High School, 2735 NE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97220
WHEN: Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 3:45pm – 5:00pm

Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with about twenty 9th and 11th grade bilingual students at Madison, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain…
Students are particularly curious about: adolescent brain development, bilingualism and mental health
Part of our collaboration with the Latino Network – learn more at the links!
Latino Network Learning & Lobes

Tres Escuelas en un Día!

Come join us!
Please RSVP to Bill Griesar (griesar@pdx.edu) & Jeff Leake (jleake@pdx.edu)
Committed participants
Sulema Rodriguez, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Gaile Parker, PSU
Jordan Ray, PSU
Heather Hamilton, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO

Velo planning: Parkinson's & Dance!
2018-03-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Velo Cult Bike Shop, 1969 NE 42nd, Portland, OR
Noggin planning for a May 2 Velo Cult presentation on the role of error and “failure” in research and art! With Rebecca Hood from Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU and Krystal Ngene of the Kúkátónón Children’s African Dance Troupe…

Meeting at Velo Cult @ 5:00pm…
Velo event tentatively set for Wednesday, May 2..!

Dead Week Daze @ PSU!
2018-03-15 12:00 - 16:00 | Smith Center, Portland State University, 1825 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, 97201, United States
SMITH MEMORIAL UNION @ PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ROOM 026

Noggin @ Skyridge
2018-03-13 07:45 - 12:35 | Skyridge Middle School, 5220 NW Parker Street, Camas, WA, 98607, United States
WHAT: Noggin @ Skyridge Middle School
We did it! More at the link!
Curiosity’s Sky-High at Skyridge!

WHERE: Skyridge Middle School, 5220 NW Parker St, Camas, WA 98607
WHEN: Tuesday, March 13, 7:45am – 12:35pm
Noggin volunteers will meet with students at Skyridge, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain…
8:00-9:04 Class (Core 1)
9:06-10:03 Class (Core 2)
10:08-10:46 Class (Core 3)
Lunch 10:46 – 11:16
11:18-11:37 Class (Core 3 con’t)
11:38-12:35 Class (Core 4)
See what we’ve done before at the links..!
The Homunculus Dance @ Skyridge

Synaptic Pruning @ Skyridge

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
Jeehoon Jung, WSUV
Ruth Marigomen, WSUV/Noggin Resource Council
Iris Gutierrez, WSUV
Ashley Keates, PSU
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council

BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK
2018-03-12 - 2018-03-18
Read our interview with the Dana Foundation about Brain Awareness Week – and check our Noggin calendar for what we’ve got planned..!
NW Noggin: Interview with the Dana Foundation!

OHSU/OMSI BRAIN FAIR
2018-03-10 09:00 - 17:00 | Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, 1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: OHSU/OMSI BRAIN FAIR
We did it! More details and pics at the link..!
Putting the brains in Brain Fair!

WHERE: Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, 1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR 97214
WHEN: Saturday, March 10, 2018, 9:00am – 5:00pm (set up 8:30 – 9:30am! Event starts @ 10am)
One of the nation’s largest Brain Fairs is this Saturday, and kicks off Brain Awareness Week..!
LEARN MORE: Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is the global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research
Come join us for an awesome day at OMSI!
Coffee and snacks all day, and OHSU promises free admission to the museum!

Please RSVP to Bill Griesar (griesar@pdx.edu) & Jeff Leake (aspragus@yahoo.com)
See what we did last year!
Pipe Cleaners, Gel Prints, Electrodes & Brains!

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
Deza’Rae Collins, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Sulema Rodriguez, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Heather Hamilton, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Mckenzie Figuracion, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Jordan Ray, PSU
Jennifer Teachworth, PSU
Michael Deveney, PSU
Jeehoon Jung, WSUV
Krystal Harrel, PSU
Kyle Stinson, PSU
Mikey Smith, PSU
Adam Bishop, PSU
Michael James Bettger, PSU
Thomas Madison, PSU
Iris Gutierrez , WSUV
Gavin Lockard, WSUV
Alivia Stone, WSUV
Daniel Salazar, WSUV
Malia’Ka Hall, WSUV
David Beltran, WSUV
Lyubov Bachinskaya, PSU
Bliss Croton, PSU
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council
Kindra Crick
Sukh Athwal, WSUV, 9:00am – noon
Andre Walcott, OHSU, 9:00am – noon
Shawna Erickson, PDU, 9:00am – noon
Travis Christian, PSU, 9:00am – noon
Vanessa Batulayan, PSU/Pacific Islander Asian Asian American Student Center, 9:00am – noon
Nancy Yang, PSU, 9:00am – noon
Jessica Patching-Bunch, Noggin Resource Council, 9:00am – noon
Ankita Guchait, PSU/OHSU, 3:00 – 5:00pm
Ruth Marigomen, WSUV, 3:00 – 5:00pm

There will be coffee/tea/snacks provided throughout the day in Classroom 1.
You will receive FREE entry into OMSI on March 15, with your OHSU ID. You may tour the museum at any time during the day, just make sure your table is staffed while you are away. We will also have nametags for non-OHSU volunteers so that they may enter for free as well.
The OMSI parking fee is waived for all exhibitors, please remember your parking space number and report it to the concierge desk or to me.
Kate Stout (from the OHSU Brain Institute) will be there with a map of where our Noggin tables are located, and there will also be a label on each table…
There will be a stack of chairs in the venue space for you to use if you need some for your table. Chairs will not be pre-set at your table.
Load in is at 8:30 am-9:30 am on Saturday morning.

Noggin @ HeLa High!
2018-03-08 08:00 - 12:00 | He La High School, 9105 NE 9th St, Vancouver, WA, 98664, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin visit to HeLa High
We did it! Learn more about HeLa cells and visual physiology at the link!
Hallucinations @ HeLa High

WHERE: Henrietta Lacks High School, 9105 NE 9th St., Vancouver, WA, 98664
WHEN: Thursday, March 8, 2018, 8:00am – 12:00pm
Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with about 400 students at Henrietta Lacks High School, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain…
See what’ve done at HeLa in the past…
Hella Bright at HeLa

Hippocampal hordes at HeLa High

Brains for 437 @ HeLa High!

Please join us! Email bgriesar@nwnoggin.org, jleake@pdx.edu to RSVP 🙂
CONFIRMED LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Ashley Keates, PSU
Jade Osilla, PSU
Lelani Lealiiee, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council
Kanani Miyamoto, Noggin Resource Council
Natalia Stoner, PSU
Travis Christian, PSU
Aliese Poole, PSU
Iris Gutierrez, WSUV, 8:00am – 10:00am

Noggin @ Beaumont Middle School!
2018-03-07 16:00 - 17:20 | Beaumont Middle School, 4043 NE Fremont St, Portland, OR, 97212, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin visit to Beaumont Middle School
We did it! Learn more about our visit (and the basal ganglia) at the link!
Basal ganglia @ Beaumont!

WHERE: Beaumont Middle School, 4043 NE Fremont St, Portland, OR 97212
WHEN: Wednesday, March 7, 2018, 4:00 – 5:20pm
Contact: Erica Ronquillo, Latino Network

LEARN MORE: Latino Network Learning & Lobes
Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with Latino students after school at Beaumont, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain.

Please RSVP to Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com) to join in!
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
Sulema Rodriguez, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO/Noggin Resource Council
Aliese Poole, PSU
Jessica Patching-Bunch, PSU/Noggin Resource Council
Travis Christian, PSU
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council member

Noggin @ Cesar Chavez Middle School!
2018-03-06 15:15 - 16:45 | Cesar Chavez Middle School, 5103 N. Willis Blvd., Portland, OR, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin visit to Cesar Chavez Middle School
We did it! Learn more at this link…
Tres Escuelas en un Día!

WHERE: Cesar Chavez Middle School, 5103 N. Willis Blvd., Portland OR 97203

WHEN: Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 3:15 – 4:45pm
Contact: Erica Ronquillo, Latino Network

LEARN MORE: Latino Network Learning & Lobes
Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with Latino students after school at Cesar Chavez, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain…

Please RSVP to Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com) to join in!
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
Sulema Rodriguez, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO/Noggin Resource Council
Jordan Ray, PSU
Travis Christian, PSU
Iris Gutierrez, WSUV

Noggin @ Sheridan High School
2018-03-06 11:00 - 12:30
WHAT: Noggin visit to Sheridan High School
We did it! Learn more at this link…
Tres Escuelas en un Día!

WHERE: Sheridan High School, 433 S Bridge St, Sheridan, OR 97378

WHEN: Tuesday, March 6, 11:00am – 11:20am, Meeting with Dean Rech; 11:20am – 12:50pm, Health Professions classroom students
SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
We are heading into gorgeous Yamhill County near McMinnville to discuss brains and art and answer questions from high school students in Oregon Pacific Area Health Education Center Coordinator Joanne Trczinski’s Health Professions club. We’ll also meet with Sheridan Principal Dean Rech to discuss the Native Storytelling and the Brain project, and start initial planning for a longer series of visits in the fall…

LEARN MORE: Synapses & Stories – Coyote, Grizzly & their Brains!

Noggin @ Amity High School
2018-03-06 08:00 - 10:00 | Amity High School, 503 Oak Ave, Amity, OR, 97101, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit to Amity High School
We did it! Learn more at this link…
Tres Escuelas en un Día!

WHERE: Amity High School, 503 Oak Ave, Amity, OR 97101

WHEN: Tuesday, March 6, 8:15 – 8:50am, meeting with principal Chris Daniels; 8:50am – 9:45am, Health Professions classroom students

We are heading into gorgeous Yamhill County near McMinnville to discuss brains and art and answer questions from high school students in Oregon Pacific Area Health Education Center Coordinator Joanne Trczinski’s Health Professions club. We’ll also meet with Amity Principal Chris Daniels to discuss the Native Storytelling and the Brain project, and start initial planning for a longer series of visits in the fall…

LEARN MORE: Synapses & Stories – Coyote, Grizzly & their Brains!

VELO CULT: Sleep, School & Surrealism
2018-03-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Velo Cult Bike Shop, 1969 NE 42nd, Portland, OR
WHAT: Sleep, School & Surrealism @ Velo Cult with Emily Weiss, Psychology, Portland State University and Jamaali Roberts, PNCA
WHERE: Velo Cult, 1969 NE 42nd Ave, Portland, OR 97213

WHEN: Thursday, March 1, 6 – 8pm
They did it! Learn more at this link…
Black Art, School & Dreams: Exquisite corpses @ Velo

How critical is sleep for young brains? Little kids transitioning to school need to manage their thoughts, feelings, and actions, and theory suggests that sufficient sleep is essential. How does a lack of sleep affect kindergarteners and young children, and impact their development of self-regulation skills? How do racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities relate to how well, and how long kids sleep?
Emily focuses on applied research, taking science out of the lab into real classrooms and home environments that children navigate every day. Learn about current research on sleep, self-regulation, and classroom contexts among low-income, African-American kindergarteners.

Detail of “Created on their likeness,” mixed media on canvas by Jamaali Roberts
Jamaali is a multi-faceted painter using different mediums to rethink how Black culture is represented in American society. Jamaali will lead an art and storytelling time. After a brief introduction to African American collage artists, he will guide the audience to create two craft projects around the idea of “sleep” and “rest.” While they create, he will use his African drums and percussion to tell stories from his own surreal dream adventures and enlightening sleep meditations. Participants will leave with a better understanding of what sleep can mean for them and how, conjoined with art, it can benefits our lives.

NW Noggin Velo Cult events are always free, open to the public, child friendly, and feature access to amazing beer (scroll here for current tap list), wine, coffee, tea, sodas and sandwiches…

George Carlin on the compelling nature of sleep…
“People say, ‘I’m going to sleep now,’ as if it were nothing. But it’s really a bizarre activity. ‘For the next several hours, while the sun is gone, I’m going to become unconscious, temporarily losing command over everything I know and understand. When the sun returns, I will resume my life.’
If you didn’t know what sleep was, and you had only seen it in a science fiction movie, you would think it was weird and tell all your friends about the movie you’d seen.
They had these people, you know? And they would walk around all day and be OK? And then, once a day, usually after dark, they would lie down on these special platforms and become unconscious. They would stop functioning almost completely, except deep in their minds they would have adventures and experiences that were completely impossible in real life. As they lay there, completely vulnerable to their enemies, their only movements were to occasionally shift from one position to another; or, if one of the ‘mind adventures’ got too real, they would sit up and scream and be glad they weren’t unconscious anymore. Then they would drink a lot of coffee.’
So, next time you see someone sleeping, make believe you’re in a science fiction movie. And whisper, ‘The creature is regenerating itself.”

RACC Juice Awards: NW Noggin!
2018-03-01 07:30 - 09:00 | Portland Art Museum
WHAT: Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) Juice Awards!
Amazing morning! Learn more about RACC, and the Top Ten Ways you can make a difference for arts and culture at this link..!
Ten Ways to Support the Arts

WHERE: Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205
WHEN: Thursday, March 1, 2018, 7:30 – 9:00am

NW Noggin has been selected to receive an award at RACC’s Juice breakfast ceremony on Thursday, March 1, 2018.

LEARN MORE: Noggin has the Juice!

Noggin was nominated for “providing arts integrated neuroscience education to the public.” Our nomination was submitted by our friends and collaborators at Portland State University and Oregon Health & Science University.

Thank you for supporting innovative arts-integrated STEAM outreach in the Pacific Northwest, and beyond!

FROM RACC…

“Noggin will be honored alongside the following for their significant impact to our region’s arts and culture: Kevin Cavanaugh, Guerrilla Development Co., New Expressive Works and Wyse Real Estate Advisors, Paul Susi, Profile Theatre, Red Door Project and Portland Police, Tyler White, I Love This Place PDX, Valerie Otani, City of Hillsboro, YWCA, Imago Theatre and Fred Meyer…”

What is Juice?
Juice is the annual breakfast event put on by the Regional Arts & Culture Council where members of the business and arts community come together to celebrate outstanding achievement in expression, support and service in arts and culture in the tri-county area. Juice was born out of the event known as Arts Breakfast of Champions that was produced by the now defunct Business for Culture and Arts. Think of Juice as RACC’s love letter to the arts by celebrating art’s power through video stories, performance and awards. This is our opportunity to help business and the broader community truly understand the critical need for art and all the ways our community can support the people producing it. We hope to inspire increased value and investment in the arts through story and connection. More than 400 people attend Juice. They represent the business, artist, nonprofit and government sectors.

NW Noggin @ American Medical Women's Association mtg
2018-02-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Franklin High School, 5405 SE Woodward St, Portland, OR, 97206, United States
WHAT: American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) meeting
WHERE: Franklin High School, 5405 SE Woodward St, Portland, OR 97206; Room G018 (the building right next to the football field, not the main school building!)
WHEN: Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 6:00 – 8:00pm

We did this! The AMWA members serve as high school mentors, and wanted to learn more about our arts-integrated community outreach. Our volunteers talked about career opportunities, their own work in labs, as counselors, as undergraduates…

We brought along brains and made more neurons out of pipe cleaners… 🙂

LEARN MORE: American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) PSU Chapter

Committed participants
Krystal Harrel, PSU
Lyubov Bachinskaya, PSU
Jeehoon Jung, WSUV
Ashley Keates, PSU
Mara Baker, PSU
Denessa Oberbeck, OHSU

Noggin @ Hosford Middle School
2018-02-27 09:15 - 12:30 | Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: Noggin at Hosford Middle School (Portland Public Schools)
We did it! Learn more at the link…
High energy Hosford: Tumors, music & drugs!

WHERE: Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl, Portland, OR 97214
WHEN: Tuesday, February 27, 9:15am – 12:30; meet at the school office
CONTACTS: Amy Slaughter, Assistant Principal, Hosford Middle School; Jane VanDam, Science teacher; Kevin Marquardt, Science teacher

Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with students in Kevin Marquardt and Jane VanDam’s 6th grade classrooms at Hosford, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain…
Period 2, room 9, from 9:39 – 10:32am
Period 3, room 9, from 10:35 – 11:28am
Period 4, room 9, from 11:31 – 12:24am
Hosford offers a Mandarin immersion program!
Here are some neuro-related words in Mandarin…

Brain: 脑 (nǎo)
Neuroscience: 神经科学 (Shénjīng kēxué)
https://nwnoggin.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Mandarin-Translation.m4a
Translation provided by Luyao Wang, undergraduate in Psychology at PSU
There are significant benefits to bilingual education in both children and adults, including evidence of changes in the white matter wiring of linked cortical regions essential for executive function (decision making, working memory, attentional control), and a reduced risk of cognitive decline with age…
LEARN MORE: Bilingual Two-Way Immersion Programs Benefit Academic Achievement
LEARN MORE: Language Experience Changes Language and Cognitive Ability
LEARN MORE: The effects of bilingualism on the white matter structure of the brain
LEARN MORE: Latino Network Learning & Lobes
Email Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com) for more details…
Committed participants
Adam Bishop, PSU
Kyle Stinson, PSU
Katerina Bondarenko, WSU
Jade Osilla, PSU
Ashley Keates, PSU
Krystal Nguyen, PSU
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council
Jennifer Jensen, PSU (first two periods)
Louis Sumrall, PSU (first two periods)

Noggins @ Ione School District
2018-02-22 08:00 - 12:00 | Ione School District, 445 Spring Street, Ione, OR, 97843, United States
WHAT: Visit to Ione School District
WHERE: Ione School District, 445 Spring Street | Ione, Oregon 97843
WHEN: Thursday, February 22, 8:00am – 12:00pm

We did it! Our volunteers met with over 80 curious 4th – 12th graders at the Home of the Cardinals! There were baby DUCKS!
High Desert Noggins: Brains & baby goats!

8:00-9:00 Juniors and Seniors
9:00-10:00 Freshman and Sophomores
10:00-11:00 4th and 5th grade
11:00-12:00 6th-8th grades

Noggin @ Heppner High
2018-02-21 08:00 - 15:00 | Heppner Junior/Senior High School, 710 NW Morgan Street, Heppner, OR, 97836, United States
WHAT: Outreach to Heppner Junior/Senior High School
WHERE: Heppner Junior/Senior High School, 710 NW Morgan St., Heppner, OR 97836
WHEN: Wednesday, February 21, 8:00am – 3:00pm; arrive Lexington, Oregon Tuesday, February 20
We did it! Our volunteers met with over 160 curious 7th – 12th graders at the Home of the Mustangs! There were baby goats!
High Desert Noggins: Brains & baby goats!

NW Noggin is invited to present brain research and make art with students at Heppner Junior/Senior High School on Wednesday, February 21….

Noggin to Lexington, OR
2018-02-20
WHAT: Outreach to Heppner Junior/Senior High School and Ione School
We did it!
Braving snow and ice in the Columbia Gorge, we made it to the Fletcher Farm Tuesday night. We worked with 160 enthusiastic 7th – 12th graders at Heppner Junior & Senior High School on Wednesday, and another 80 4th – 12th graders at Ione School on Thursday! Details at the link…
High Desert Noggins: Brains & baby goats!

WHERE: Fletcher Farm in Lexington, Oregon (details coming soon)
WHEN: Arrival Tuesday night, February 20; Departure Thursday, February 22

“If you want to find my place
get out of town any way you can.
Find the Cascades in early morning.”
–George Venn (from Directions for Visitors)
NW Noggin is invited to present brain research and make art in Oregon’s Morrow County, with students at Heppner Junior/Senior High School on Wednesday, February 21 and Ione School District on Thursday, February 22. Innovative science communicators from Portland State University and OHSU will arrive in Lexington on Tuesday afternoon/evening…

Wednesday, February 21: Noggin @ Heppner High

Thursday, February 22: Noggins @ Ione School District

PARTICIPANTS

Sam Carpenter, OHSU
Joey Seuferling, NW Noggin Resource Council
Angela Hendrix, NW Noggin Resource Council
Jacob Schoen, OHSU Primate Center/PSU
Leota Wolford, PSU
Ashley Keating, PSU
Jade Osilla, PSU

Noggin @ Shahala Middle School!
2018-02-15 07:45 - 12:15 | Shahala Middle School, 601 SE 192nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA, 98683, United States
What: We will be visiting Shahala Middle School in Vancouver (Evergreen Public Schools) for two days in February to talk about (and look at) brains and make pipe cleaner neurons with over 400 students!
We did it! TERRIFIC questions. Learn more @ the link!
Trickster Brains @ Shahala

See what we did last week!
Are brains edible?

See what we did last year!
Synapses @ Shahala!

Where: Shahala Middle School, 601 SE 192nd Ave., Vancouver, WA; meet at school office, sessions will take place in the school media center
When: Tuesday Feb 6th, and Thursday Feb 15th, 7:45am – 12:15pm
Make brain lobe hats, brain cells, and hold real brains! Ask questions and learn..!
Please RSVP to Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com) to join in!
Committed participants
McKenzie Figuracion, PSU
Ashley Keates, PSU
Krystal Nguyen, PSU
Jade Osilla, PSU
Austin Lewis, PSU
Denesa Oberbeck, OHSU

Noggin @ Siletz Valley!
2018-02-13 | Siletz Valley Early College Academy, 245 NW James Franks Ave, Siletz, 97380, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit to Siletz Valley School Health Professions class
WHERE: Siletz Valley Early College Academy, 245 NW James Franks Ave, Siletz, OR 97380
WHEN: Tuesday, February 13, 9:00 – 10:00am, classroom; 10:00 – 11:00am, meeting with principal

We did this!
We headed towards the wooded Siletz Valley near coastal Newport to discuss brains and art and answer questions about music, stories, sleep and hemispheric asymmetry with high school students in Oregon Pacific Area Health Education Center Coordinator Joanne Trczinski’s Health Professions club…

We also met with Siletz Valley Schools Principal and Superintendent Sam Tupou to discuss the Native Storytelling and the Brain project, and start initial planning for a longer series of visits in the fall…

LEARN MORE: Synapses & Stories – Coyote, Grizzly & their Brains!

NW Noggin @ Wy'East Middle School!
2018-02-08 09:30 - 14:30 | Wy’East Middle School, 1112 SE 136th Ave., Vancouver, WA, 98683, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin visit to Wy’East Middle School
We did it! Check out our visit with 400 6th graders! Questions on everything from memory to migraines, football concussions to the health benefits of community engagement…
White Matter on Wy’East

WHERE: Wy’East Middle School, 1112 SE 136th Ave., Vancouver, WA 98683
WHEN: Thursday, March 8, 2018, 9:45am – 2:30pm
Contact: Aubrey Wilson, 6th Grade Science
Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with students at Wy’East, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain. We’ll have three 80 minute classes with up to 120 students in each!

Period 3: 10:00-11:20 (120 students)
Lunch: 11:20-11:55 Whew!
Period 4: 11:55-1:10 (120 students)
Period 5: 1:15-2:30 (90 students)
Please RSVP to Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com) to join in!
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council
Kayla Townsley, PSU/OHSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Aliese Poole, PSU
Deza’Rae Collins, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Austin Lewis, PSU
Jade Osilla, PSU, 9:45am – 11:20am
Shawna Erickson, PSU, 11:00am – 2:30pm
Jeehoon Jung, WSU, 12:30 – 2:30pm

Noggin @ Shahala Middle School!
2018-02-06 07:45 - 12:30 | Shahala Middle School, 601 SE 192nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA, 98683, United States
What: We will be visiting Shahala Middle School in Vancouver (Evergreen Public Schools) for two days in February to talk about (and look at) brains and make pipe cleaner neurons with over 400 students!
We did it! Find out if brains can be eaten at the link below… 🙂
Are brains edible?

See what we did last year!
Synapses @ Shahala!

Where: Shahala Middle School, 601 SE 192nd Ave., Vancouver, WA; meet at school office, sessions will take place in the school media center
When: Tuesday Feb 6th, and Thursday Feb 15th, 7:45am – 12:15pm
Make brain lobe hats, brain cells, and hold real brains! Ask questions and learn..!
Please RSVP to Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com) to join in!
Committed participants
Denessa Oberbeck, OHSU
Mackenzie Figuracion, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Jade Osilla, PSU
Joey Seuferling, Noggin Resource Council
Krystal Nguyen, PSU, 7:45am – 10:30am
Iris Guttierez, WSU, 7:45am – 10:00am

Noggin joins Reclaiming Identity @ Portland Art Museum
2018-02-02 16:30 - 19:30 | Portland Art Museum
WHAT: Power Up – Reclaiming Identity
WHERE: Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205
WHEN: Friday, February 2, 2018, 4:30 – 7:30pm; set up from 3:00pm on
Your brain is filled with a diverse assortment of brain cells, called neurons, each with a critical role to play. Some are exceptionally tiny (10,000 might fit in a space the size of a grain of rice!), while others stretch out several feet! Make your own out of colorful pipe cleaners, and learn about the dynamic neural networks that generate our perceptual, cognitive and behavioral responses to the world…

The Portland Art Museum is hosting the fourth annual event for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies! Meet new people. Take part in a drag workshop. Create with artists and designers. Explore the exhibitions Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA, Kingdom Animalia, and so much more. See films made by Northwest teens. Make art, make friends, and have fun!

Admission is FREE! Refreshments provided. Middle school, high school, and college-age are all welcome. GSA/QSA advisors and teachers are welcome, too.
“Heterosexuality is not normal, it’s just common.”
–Dorothy Parker
Diversity of gender identity and sexual orientation has roots in the brain, including exposure to critical hormones (e.g., testosterone, estrogen) in the womb. Yet there are multiple development steps, both early ones that significantly shape our bodies, and later ones which substantially change our brains. Hormones don’t tell the whole story, either, as additional genetic and environmental factors can contribute to the morphological, physiological and behavioral differences that contribute to who we are.

Detail from Pleasure Communism exhibit, Vera Rubin (at the White Gallery through 2/2)
LEARN MORE: Sexual differentiation of the human brain
LEARN MORE: A Review of the Status of Brain Structure Research in Transsexualism
LEARN MORE: Sexual Orientation Related Differences in Cortical Thickness in Male Individuals
Noggin participants
Jesse Hamlin, PSU
Alyssa Villmann, PSU
LEARN MORE: Noggin @ Portland Art Museum

POWER UP: Reclaiming Identity

Check in and get your Bingo card!

Hoffman Lobby
4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Art-Making with NW Noggin
Kinney Room
4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Short Films Made by Teens presented by the Northwest Film Center
Whitsell Auditorium
4:30 – 6 p.m.
POWER UP Photobooth
Stevens Room
4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Welcome to Clown Town: A Drag Workshop with Carla Rossi
Stevens Room
5 – 6 p.m.

Carla Rossi, ME, MYSELF & IT @ Littman Gallery, Portland State University
Open Mic Performance Space with Clay Muwin River and Fyre
WE. Exhibition, Contemporary Wing, 4th floor
6 – 7:30 p.m.

NW Noggin Art + Science panel @ Littman Gallery
2018-01-31 18:00 - 20:00 | Littman Gallery, Portland State University, 1825 SW Broadway Smith Center #250, Portland, OR, 97201, United States
WHAT: Art + Science panel with NW Noggin
WHERE: Littman Gallery, Portland State University Smith Center, Room 250, 1825 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97207-0751
WHEN: Wednesday, January 31, 6:00 – 8:00pm

For the panel on Art + Science, Kindra Crick will speak with her collaborator at WSU, memory researcher Dr. Harkness, and the arts-integrated neuroscience outreach group NWNoggin, consisting of Portland State University neuroscientist Dr. Bill Griesar and PSU professor Jeff Leake.
Come for an enlightening discussion about the exhibit, the intersection of art and science, current memory research and sleep
***
Kindra Crick’s multimedia exhibition explores the intersection between the ‘two cultures’ of science and art that share a common wonder at the creative possibilities which emerge from the cross-pollination of the material and imagined worlds.

Audiences will find themselves enveloped in, and invited to navigate through, an imagined wilderness of the brain within a space filled with LED-illuminated ‘neurons.’ Dendritic arms made of fabric-wrapped wire reach out to create an immersive experience of neuroplasticity. Corseted around each neuron is netted fabric that shimmers in its embrace of the memories held within each synaptic connection. This work was initiated during a NW Noggin collaboration with WSU neuroscientist Dr. John Harkness.

Reflecting on our need for sleep and attempts to capture fleeting sensory experiences is a series of memory-inspired collections and etchings created during Crick’s Jordan Schnitzer Printmaking Residency at the The Sitka Center for Art & Ecology. As a tactile extension of attempting to preserve an ephemeral experience, she includes field journal notes, a collection of woodland material, and captured smells of the Oregon coastal wilderness and Salmon River estuary nearby.
In all her art, Crick wishes to ignite our sense of wonder through immersion, close examination, and exploration.
***
Exhibition runs January 8 to February 2 with extended hours on February 1st and 2nd for the Portland Winter Light Festival.
The ‘Illuminated Wilderness’ exhibit was funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
***
SLIDES (Part 1): Art Science at Littman PART 1 (ppt)
SLIDES (Part 1): Art Science at Littman PART 1 (pdf)
SLIDES (Part 2): Art Science at Littman PART 2 (ppt)
SLIDES (Part 2): Art Science at Littman PART 2 (pdf)

LEARN MORE: Noggins in Nod: The science of sleep

More on the NW Noggin collaboration between Kindra Crick and Dr. John Harkness:
Your brain is plastic @ Velo!

From Exploring the Cerebral Wilderness @ Gallery 114 (December, 2016)

Noggin @ OSU: The art of brain education, outreach & research
2018-01-29 16:00 - 17:00 | Oregon State University, Reed Lodge 226, 2950 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR, 97331, United States
WHAT: Noggin @ Oregon State University winter colloquia in Psychology
WHERE: Oregon State University, Reed Lodge 226, 2950 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331
WHEN: Monday, January 29, 4:00 – 5:00pm
“From classrooms to Congress: The art of brain education, outreach & research”

COLLOQUIA SLIDES (ppt): OSU Slides 2018
COLLOQUIA SLIDES (pdf): OSU Slides 2018 FINAL

LEARN MORE: SPS_Flier_Winter18

VELO CULT: Binyam Nardos & Teressa Raiford on Race, Bias & Brain
2018-01-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Velo Cult Bike Shop, 1969 NE 42nd, Portland, OR
WE DID IT!!!
Powerful and compelling night of neuroscience research, art, action and activism! Learn more at the link below…
Race, Bias & Brain: You Can’t Control Art

WHAT: Race, Bias & the Brain with Binyam Nardos (Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU) & Teressa Raiford (Don’t Shoot Portland)
WHERE: Velo Cult, 1969 NE 42nd Ave, Portland, OR 97213
WHEN: Wednesday, January 24, 6 – 8pm
FACEBOOK EVENT LINK

BINYAM NARDOS: Unofficial reports by some media outlets and community outreach organizations that track and document police violence demonstrate that more than any other demographic group, young black males are at a particularly heightened risk for fatal police encounters.
LEARN MORE: A Multi-Level Bayesian Analysis of Racial Bias in Police Shootings at the County-Level in the United States, 2011–2014
There are many possible underlying causes for the reported violent interactions between police and black individuals. To shed light on the issue, one approach taken by psychologists and neuroscientists has been to investigate potential behavioral and intrinsic brain-based biases when perceiving black versus white faces. One notable study (B. Keith Payne, 2001) reports that brief presentation of black vs white faces as racial cues can actually “prime” a quicker response to weapons or items of danger. The same manipulation increases misidentification of tools as weapons for black, relative to white, face cues. This occurs even if the face cue was flashed so quickly that the participant doesn’t even know it was there.
LEARN MORE: Split-Second Decisions and Unintended Stereotyping
The above and similar findings point to race as an important construct that drives perception, which may, at least in part, drive the actions taken by law enforcement. Binyam’s research in Damien Fair’s Neuroimaging Lab in Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU, which is funded by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience asks an additional question. Are these types of relationships dependent, or even enhanced, based on the emotional state of the subject making quick decisions?

To investigate the effects of race and emotional context on face perception, our study used black and white faces as stimuli in a functional MRI task (emotional go/no-go task) designed to study impulse control in black and white young adults. Three emotional contexts were induced in participants: rewarding, threatening, or neutral contexts. Behaviorally, participants exhibited greater impulsive actions (more false alarms) to black faces, which was enhanced in threat contexts. This finding was paralleled in the brain. Brain patterns revealed increased functional MRI activity for black faces in threatening contexts, as opposed to few face differences in neutral and rewarding contexts. Our results demonstrate the importance of emotional context as an important factor that influences race perception, and subsequent decision-making. Such findings should assist in ongoing efforts to increase awareness of race disparities in law enforcement and ultimately a reduction in preventable violent encounters.

TERESSA RAIFORD: The founder of Don’t Shoot Portland, Teressa creates and contributes to community art to engage people in seeking and achieving social justice. From Teressa: “Non Violent Direct Actions are engineered by tools we have inherited from our individual life experiences, and real influence from elders and history. Using education has been the key to our consistency and evolution of tactics. History, Art and Educations combined institutional access powers up our Artistic medium to engage community.” Enjoy the opportunity to create powerful collages that reflect and make visible all people who contribute to this place we call home.
Don’t Shoot Portland SLIDES: Velo Slide Show

NW Noggin Velo Cult events are always free, open to the public, child friendly, and feature access to amazing beer (scroll here for current tap list), wine, coffee, tea, sodas and sandwiches…

Family STEAM Night at Irvington School
2018-01-22 17:30 - 20:00 | Irvington Elementary, 1320 NE Brazee St, Portland, OR, 97212, United States
WHAT: Family STEAM Night at Irvington School
WE DID IT! Learn more at the link below…
STEAM Ahead @ Ionotropic Irvington

WHERE: Irvington School, 1320 NE Brazee St, Portland, OR 97212
WHEN: Monday, January 22, 2017, 5:30 – 8:00pm
5:30 – 6:00 – Setup
6:00 – 7:30 – Event
7:30 – 8:00 – Cleanup

Come join us! Please RSVP to Bill (griesar@pdx.edu), Jeff (jleake@pdx.edu) and Jessica (jpatchingbunch@gmail.com)…
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
Leota Wolford, PSU
Sulema Rodriguez, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
Erin McConnell, PSU/NW Noggin Resource Council
Sara Moreno, PSU
Thomas Madison, PSU
Mars Correa, PSU
Kateryna Bondarenko, WSU

Noggin @ Liberty High Health Fair!
2018-01-18 08:00 - 12:00 | Liberty High School, 21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro, OR, 97124, United States
WHAT: Visit to Liberty High School Health Fair, Hillsboro, Oregon
WHERE: Liberty High School, 21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro, OR 97124
WHEN: Thursday, January 18, 8:00am – 12:00pm
We did it! Check out pictures and a detailed report of our visit from Jacob Schoen, NW Noggin Resource Council member for Portland State University!
Lab Coats & Lobes @ Liberty!

PLUS: See what we’ve done at Liberty in the past..!
Brain Lessons at Liberty

A BioGift of Brains

CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS
Austin Lewis, PSU
Jordan Ray, PSU
Madeleine Opie, PSU
Ashley Keates, PSU
Alyona Kurelenkova, PSU
Jacob Schoen, OHSU Primate Center/PSU
Jade Catherine Osilla, PSU
Krystal Harrel, PSU

Illuminated Wilderness: Memory @ Littman Gallery
2018-01-17 17:00 - 21:00 | Littman Gallery, Portland State University, 1825 SW Broadway Smith Center #250, Portland, OR, 97201, United States
LITTMAN GALLERY at Portland State University
1825 SW Broadway #250
Portland, OR 97201

Illuminated Wilderness: Memory
January 8 – February 2, 2018
Exhibition reception: Wednesday, January 17th, 5pm – 9pm

Art & Science Panel w/NW Noggin: Wednesday, January 31st, 6-8pm

“Has it ever struck you… that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going?” – Eric Kandel
Kindra Crick’s multimedia exhibition explores the intersection between the ‘two cultures’ of science and art that share a common wonder at the creative possibilities which emerge from the cross-pollination of the material and natural worlds. Audiences will find themselves enveloped in, and invited to navigate through, an imagined wilderness of the brain within a space filled with LED-illuminated ‘neurons.’ Dendritic arms made of fabric-wrapped wire reach out to create an immersive experience of neuroplasticity. Corseted around each neuron is netted fabric that shimmers in its embrace of the memories held within each synaptic connection. This work was initiated during a NW Noggin collaboration with WSU neuroscientist Dr. John Harkness.
Reflecting on our need for sleep and attempts to capture fleeting sensory experiences is a series of memory-inspired collections and etchings created during Crick’s Jordan Schnitzer Printmaking Residency at the The Sitka Center for Art & Ecology. As a tactile extension of attempting to preserve an ephemeral experience, she includes field journal notes, a collection of woodland material, and captured smells of the Oregon coastal wilderness and Salmon River estuary nearby.
In all her art, Crick wishes to ignite our sense of wonder through immersion, close examination, and exploration.
Exhibition runs January 8 to February 2 with extended hours on February 1st and 2nd for the Portland Winter Light Festival. There will be an Art & Science Panel discussion on January 31st.
** This exhibit was funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
