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.
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LEARN MORE: Community Neuroscience: How to Build an Outreach Organization
NW Noggin: Art + Brains
STEAMing back to Washington!
Imagination, Stories & Brains
Honest selves @ Hosford
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
Brains examining brains
“I can’t believe I’m a brain myself…examining…a brain!” ― 6th grader at Hosford Middle School, Portland, Oregon Have we mentioned how much we love genuine community engagement? How NW Noggin is entirely driven by volunteers who go places, listen, share their own stories from labs and classrooms, and get inspired by…
“Tomorrow is Brain Day!”
Post written by Judy Anders, Leslie Macpherson & Michael Endicott, Teachers at North Middle School, Grants Pass, Oregon The Second Annual Brain Day at North Middle School was an unqualified success. Many thanks to the NW Noggin Neuroscience Outreach Group – who are ALL VOLUNTEERS! – for bringing their expertise,…
Can a brain use all of the parts at once?
“When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere. When the work takes over, then the artist listens.” ― Madeleine L’Engle Going places Communicating science is more than telling others about your thoughts, experiments, research and ideas. It’s more than…
Sewing Memories, & Brains
“No happiness or pain, no more forgetting” ― Gabriela Mistral Watch our video poster abstract for the Society for Neuroscience Oregon/SW WA Chapter meeting 2021 LEARN MORE: Society for Neuroscience Oregon / SWWA Annual Meeting Inequality harms us all Inequality currently defines the United States and many other countries, including…
Brains & Change
“Change itself is what fascinates me. I am drawn, as a moth to the flame, by edge situations, by situations of metamorphosis.” ― Annie Proulx We are indebted to Deb Arthur, a former criminal defense attorney and Associate Professor in the University Studies department at Portland State University, who invited us…
Caught their attention!
Post by Albert Shiue, undergraduate at Portland State University “Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.” ― Susan Sontag From the perspective of a PSU student with career interests in neuroscience research, it was a fantastic atmosphere at Booth 5 last Friday night! LEARN MORE:…
Axons to AMWA
NW Noggin volunteers joined the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) at Portland State University this week to discuss clinical and research careers, make neuroscience-related art and hold and examine skulls and brains! Thank you AMWA for inviting us back to speak with mentors and high school students exploring careers in…
Life’s True Face
“Life’s true face is the skull.” ― Nikos Kazantzakis We LOVE teaching anatomy and neuroanatomy! Few disciplines connect us more viscerally with the extraordinarily physical nature of who we all are. For so many – including artists, educators, researchers, undergraduates, K-12 students, members of the public – the opportunity to directly…
North Coast Noggins: Art, Alevins & Brains!
“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” ― Maya Angelou We love community connections. NW Noggin joined Clatsop Community College and both Warrenton and Astoria Public Schools this week for a research-based return to Oregon’s North Coast! LEARN MORE: Accumbens in Astoria Nine outreach adherents spent two nights in…
Psychedelic Portland
Post by Aaron Eisen, PSU graduate in Psychology and Social Science, OHSU research/teaching assistant, graduate student at the National University of Natural Medicine, and NW Noggin Resource Council member for Communications There is a renaissance of psychedelic therapy underway, and growing interest in the underlying mechanism of these medicines as…
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?.