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
On 420 & Hooch
Brain-casting, on a budget!
Join us in Chile in *2027*!
In 2027 we'll return to Valparaíso, Chile, home of the Humboldt squid! 🦑⚡️🧠🎨😃 Just like in 2025, and 2023, we'll explore how neurons carry information, and how research in Chile (involving the squid’s giant fused axons) informed 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 with Ciencia al Tiro, a local STEAM (STEM + Arts) outreach nonprofit.
LEARN MORE: LAS NEURONAS SON BACANES. LEARN MORE: Valparaiso - Arte y Cerebros en Chile LEARN MORE: ARTS AND BRAINS IN CHILE
Signal from Noise on the Oregon Coast
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” – Nikola Tesla We are immersed in waves! The world is full of energy, and much of it can be described and measured as waves. In Astoria this week, at the turbulent mouth…
The Art & Science of Nostalgia
Post by Hosanna Broderick, undergraduate in Speech & Hearing Sciences pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. I was born in San Francisco and though I grew up north of the bay, I spent a lot of time in the city during my adolescent and young adult years. I experience profound nostalgia…
The Magic of Music
Post by Jadyn Harris, undergraduate in Psychology pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Jadyn is a welcome and regular contributor to outreach visits through Northwest Noggin. “Perhaps the most important problem in neuroscience is understanding what it means to be human, and music is an essential part of this.” — Robert Zatorre…
How did we get the brain?
Post by Mina Sattari, undergraduate in Psychology pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Mina is a welcome and regular contributor to outreach visits through Northwest Noggin. This winter I’ve had the pleasure of participating in outreach at Sacajawea Elementary School in Vancouver, Washington and at Leodis V. McDaniel High School, Hosford Middle School…
Brain Awareness for ALL
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…
When I Grow Up: Learning, Memory, and LTP
Post by Asha Powell-Stormberg, undergraduate in Science pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Asha is a welcome and regular contributor to outreach visits through Northwest Noggin. Noggin @ Ron Russell Middle School I recently joined my fellow Noggin volunteers at Ron Russell Middle School in the David Douglas Public School District…
Wrestling with Expectations, and Brains
Post by Julian Rodriguez, undergraduate in Psychology pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Julian is a welcome, regular contributor to outreach through NW Noggin, and is currently seeking grants to support arts integration in STEM. When we arrive in K-12 classrooms in the Pacific Northwest with our real human noggins we pretty…
You belong in research
Post by Kayla McDaniel, undergraduate in Psychology pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Kayla is a full-time Research Assistant working in Dr. Miranda Lim’s Sleep & Health Applied Research Program (SHARP) laboratory at the Portland Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and OHSU. “We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe…
My Journey to Research
Post by Jonathan Palacios, undergraduate in Psychology pursuing an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University. Jonathan is a BUILD EXITO and U-RISE scholar working in Dr. Angela Ozburn’s substance use disorder research lab at OHSU. Discovering Science Being born in a small country was a factor that defined my…
A neurosymphony of skills!
Post by Allonté Barakat, an undergraduate Liberal Studies major minoring in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience at Portland State University. Allonté is a computer scientist, voice actor and veteran of the tabletop role playing game (TTRPG) scene, with first-hand knowledge of the power of discovering your voice and the effect that voice can…
What is outreach like?
“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 Northwest Noggin undergraduate and graduate outreach volunteers are enthusiastic and informed, and regularly let knowledge serve by going places, making art, exploring brain research, sharing stories and listening to community questions and interests in urban and rural K-12 public schools, coffee shops, museums, correctional facilities, houseless youth nonprofits, research conferences, Congress and more! LEARN MORE @ What is outreach like?.