Where is NW Noggin?
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!
NW Noggin: Art + Brains
Neurons for the people!
Nourishing cultural roots @ OAEA
Las neuronas son bacánes!
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 brain research, make art (including arpilleras, woven depictions of events 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: Arte y Cerebros en Chile LEARN MORE: ARTS & BRAINS IN CHILE
Hillsboro Heat
As temps soared to triple digits in our formerly mild Pacific Northwest, a network of undergraduates, graduate students, neuroscientists and artists arrived in Hillsboro, Oregon to talk brains and make art. LEARN MORE: The Pacific Northwest Is Getting Hit By Another Heat Wave LEARN MORE: Climate change widespread, rapid, and…
Cross-Country Noggins!
What a year! We pioneered both online and hybrid outreach models, traveled the globe (virtually!) with our noteworthy noggins and cerebral art, taught close to 1000 engaged and accomplished undergraduates and helped launch a brand new Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor at Portland State University! LEARN MORE: STEAM Ahead: A new interdisciplinary…
STEAM Ahead: A new interdisciplinary neuroscience minor at Portland State!
By Alisha Steigerwald, 2020-21 Neuroscience Club President, Portland State University One thing is certain – neuroscience rocks! That is definitely how students at Portland State University feel. LEARN MORE: Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Minor at Portland State University PSU students have a long-standing passion for brains and have sought many opportunities to enrich…
Hosford, Hippocampi & Hope
“I dwell in possibility.” – Emily Dickinson We remember this! It’s been over a year since we evacuated campus, struggled with ring lights and camera cords and converted all our live, in person interdisciplinary neuroscience courses to an online format. Only days before closure, we were holding noggins in crowded…
Clatsop Community Cortex
“A little flower that blooms in May. A lovely sunset at the end of a day. Someone helping a stranger along the way. That’s heaven to me.” –Sam Cooke Our noggins contain multitudes Each of us is made of billions of cells which reach out and join with others. These…
Thank You Northwest Noggin!
This is a Thank You Padlet created by the BILLIONS of Neurons in Jeremy/Nathan’s Class We love outreach ❤️ LEARN MORE: A crayon in Homer’s brain LEARN MORE: Neurons in Minecraft & More! Thank you for inviting us to Sunnyside!!
Neurons in Minecraft & More!
We spent the last two weeks talking brain research and considering deep, challenging questions from 4th graders in Portland Public Schools. LEARN MORE: A crayon in Homer’s brain And the students at Sunnyside Environmental School also made their own brain cells! Teachers Jeremy Thomas and Asa Gervich shared the following…
A crayon in Homer’s brain
We love questions! Some of the BEST questions come from students in public schools, who are fascinated by neuroscience research, and eager to share their own thoughts, interests, artwork and ideas about our brains! Wait a minute: just how did that crayon get in?! LEARN MORE: HOMЯ episode, The Simpsons…
Internet, Music, and Activism During Crisis — LGBTQ Communities in 2020
Post by Danny Leister-Gray, Psychology & Honors College, Portland State University “History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.” — Marsha P. Johnson 2020: A…
NogginFest 2021: Threshold Potential!
Post by Carli Cox, undergraduate in Psychology/Rosenbaum scholar at Portland State University, NW Noggin Resource Council member for PSU, NogginFest organizer! Our first ever virtual NogginFest went off without a hitch! We had so much fun sharing our love of neuroscience, research, art, and music last Saturday night. We were…
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?.