Where is NW Noggin?
Our innovative graduate and undergraduate art and neuroscience volunteers are Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) Juice award-winning developing experts in science communication, synapsing for science, and teaching in schools, theaters, museums, urban and rural communities, homeless youth centers, breweries, correctional facilities, Congress and bike shop pubs! For more information see NOGGIN BLOGGIN.NW Noggin is a locally sourced, 501(c)(3) ALL-VOLUNTEER shoestring nonprofit organization. Your tax-deductible contribution supports the purchase of sheep brains, pipe cleaners, electrodes and clay for innovative, arts-integrated outreach, and helps send volunteers from local universities (including Portland State University, OHSU, and other area institutions) to public school classrooms, conferences and free community events.
DONATE HERE!
LEARN MORE: Community Neuroscience: How to Build an Outreach Organization
NW Noggin: Art + Brains
“You get me!” @ Creative Science
High Desert Noggins: Brains & baby goats!
Brains, biofeedback & SLEEP @ Fort Vancouver!
Join us in Chile in 2025!
Please join us SUMMER 2025 in Valparaíso, Chile - the home of the Humboldt squid! 🦑⚡️🧠🎨😃 We'll explore how neurons carry information, and how research in Chile (involving the squid’s giant fused axons) led to our understanding of the electrical signaling that links our experiences to the world. We’ll visit laboratories to examine the rich history and exciting present of research at the Universidad de Chile en Valparaíso, make art (including arpilleras, woven depictions of experience that help people express challenging memories and preserve them for accountability), and contribute to community engagement through Ciencia al Tiro, a local STEAM (STEM + Arts) outreach nonprofit. We may even create a public mural celebrating famed neurology patient Phineas Gage, who lived for several years after his infamous accident - and drove a stagecoach - in the city of Valpo!
LEARN MORE: LAS NEURONAS SON BACANES. APPLY HERE (PSU): Valparaiso - Arte y Cerebros en Chile APPLY HERE (NON-PSU): ARTS AND BRAINS IN CHILE
Brains Beyond SfN
The last time we traveled to San Diego for the annual Society for Neuroscience conference, we gave the 2018 keynote address on brain awareness, and joined a panel discussion on neuroscience outreach. We heard from representatives of resource-rich institutions who talked about their well-staffed offices, expert-judged Brain Bees and annual…
Observing Art & Brains @ SfN
We’re in California! We spent two days driving 1000+ miles south over mountain passes and deserts to palm trees and sun, to join enthusiastic outreach volunteers at the annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) conference! Huge thanks to Jill and Michael in Grants Pass, Oregon and Theresa and Billy in Pleasanton,…
Billions of Brain Cells
Post by Brooke Searle, undergraduate in Psychology pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. What many of us find fascinating about neuroscience is this idea of neuroplasticity – that our brains can be changed over time. What that means to me is: whatever struggles a person is going…
Neuroscience for Oregon Youth!
We were thrilled to join Tara Subramaniam from Lincoln High School and Catherine Zhang at the Oregon Episcopal School this fall for the second annual Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conference! Tara and Catherine organized this event at a gorgeously renovated Lincoln High School, inviting Dr. Bonnie Nagel and Dr. Joseph Quinn…
How to embroider your brain cell
It’s TextileX Month in Portland, Oregon, and artists sewed, embroidered, arranged and organized fantastic, compelling installations across the City of Roses. The theme was regeneration, something that – given the right environment – our brain cells and noggins are known to do. We were thrilled to join celebrated artist and…
Brains, The Beatles, Television & Art
What a great start to fall term! And what a joy to teach where where art matters, interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, and people appreciate brains, art and students going places to listen, learn and collaborate with others! IT WASN’T ALWAYS THIS WAY (#gowhereyouarevalued) 🥴: BioGifting Brains Let Knowledge Serve This…
Portland & p:ear are beautiful
We spent another fantastic morning in the vibrant, gorgeous city of Portland, Oregon, in the heart of Old Town, together with undergraduates and graduate students excited about neuroscience research as well as sophomores from Fort Vancouver High School eager to connect with fellow youth at p:ear, a remarkable, art and…
From combat boots to lab coats
Post written by Kerry Barahona, undergraduate in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Neuroscience at Portland State University. Kerry has interned in Dr. Laura Villasana‘s lab at Legacy Research Institute. If you asked me fifteen, ten, or even five years ago, I never would have said that I saw myself in research or…
Hearts & Brains
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” — Nelson Mandela We love public schools And we love questions! Asking students what they already know about brains, and what they want to explore – really, anything – leads to fascinating, compelling opportunities to learn more, for everyone.…
Paseo, Plasticity & Portland Parks!
“Walkers are ‘practitioners of the city,’ for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities.” — Rebecca Solnit Paseo in Portland A paseo is a leisurely walk through a…
Synapsing in San Diego
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” ―Maya Angelou.
Our AMAZING volunteers organized the largest all ages Art & Neuroscience Festival in the Pacific Northwest! We offered live bands, science-inspired art, neuroscience research presentations, and the chance to ask questions and examine real brains! The fifth annual Noggin Fest helped send more young scientists and artists to the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego - and into San Diego Unified Public Schools! LEARN MORE @ Brains Beyond SfN!.