By Elena Mahrt, Zoology/Neuroscience @ Washington State University Vancouver What a beautiful and terrifying sound! It wavered slightly, as if unsure it should be heard. But after a few moments it smoothed into a steady melody. What was this sound, you ask? Why, it was the sound of my own voice! I…
By Megan Slaker, graduate Noggin volunteer from Neuroscience, WSU Vancouver Greetings fellow scientists, explorers, communicators, and investigators! Walking into Velo Cult Bike Shop, I was slightly distracted by the number of bicycles, helmets, wheels, and strange tools. I sat down on a long bench next to a table and watched…
By Austin Howard, NW Noggin volunteer (PSU) We are in the midst of one of the great movements in science: beginning to learn the what, when, why, and how of the brain. Eventually, this may help us answer the who. That is, who we are. For our nerves from head…
Graduates and undergraduates from WSU Vancouver, Portland State University, OHSU and the Pacific Northwest College of Art are busy collaborating, deciding on core ideas in neuroscience, and developing relevant art activities and lessons to engage K-12 students from PPS, MESA, and Vancouver Boys & Girls… We’re hearing from experts in instructional strategies, including Joyce…
We dropped by Sarah Morgan‘s busy arts class last week, to introduce opportunities for arts-integrated STEAM outreach through NW Noggin, and encourage participation from some talented art and design students at Portland State… Students were preparing to engage in an outdoor project based on the eye-catching work of Andy Goldsworthy, an…
Pop Up Gallery: My Brain! is a mobile application that uses augmented reality to teach students about the structure and function of their own brains… WSU Vancouver graduates Brittany Wouden and Angela Morelli are creators of MyBrain!, and have been popular and regular participants in NW Noggin outreach efforts this…
Our creative Noggin crew, seasoned by a year of brains and art with over 3000 K-12 students, and preparing for more collaborative STEAM outreach this summer, found much to applaud in this final Brain Awareness lecture at Portland’s Newmark Theater… (Photo by Dan Carter @ www.dancarterphoto.com) We gathered many of our art, psychology and neuroscience…
We enjoyed one last spring day with the engaged, informed and insightful students we’ve had the pleasure to work with, and learn from, over four weeks of Monday visits to McCoy Academy. The classroom was packed, as several students had brought along friends – to school! Angela Johnson, a recent graduate of WSU Vancouver, and John Harkness, who is…
We celebrated our first year of free art and science events at Velo Cult this week, with a presentation on psychostimulants and the adolescent brain. Emily Eastwood, a newly minted Ph.D. from OHSU Behavioral Neuroscience joined Tara Williams, an art student at PNCA who creates compelling fungal prints, to talk about mushrooms, and methamphetamine… Velo seemed…
We headed to Woodstock Elementary School in southeast Portland, where teacher Joyce Iliff told us her first grade students were learning about dendrites! Joyce wasn’t kidding – they were a very informed and energetic class of kids… We began by introducing ourselves, and described where we work and study. We also explaining…