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.
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NW Noggin: Art + Brains
The Land of Cerebrum
Brains in Boise
Collaborating Noggins
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
Freedom @ Shahala
“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is…
Nicotine is a gateway drug
“So why are some legal drugs (like nicotine and alcohol) and prescribed medications (like opioids) MORE DANGEROUS for healthy brains than some illegal drugs like LSD and marijuana?” We arrived at p:ear this month to find one young woman who was clearly anxious and jittery, irritated and upset – because…
Reflections on Chicago
Post by NW Noggin participants Mikah Brandes, Camden Howard, Maria Galvan-Bravo, Aaron Eisen, Sai Kiersarsky, undergraduates (and one recent graduate) of Portland State University. “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community…Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs…
Popping off (& pot) @ p:ear
“Everything that drowned me taught me how to swim.” ― Jenim Dibie Brains, art & research: November is NOGGIN MONTH at p:ear! We are always thrilled to return to this essential, welcoming community space, replete with good food, terrific art, and curious young people facing extreme life circumstances, including an unconscionable…
Noggins in CHICAGO!
We did it! NW Noggin collaborated with the Society for Social Neuroscience on their first ever Social Neuroscience Fair! Outreach Event for First University of Chicago Social Neuroscience Fair We examined real human brains, created art, explored electrophysiology, discussed neuroscience research, and listened and learned at the Chicago Museum of Science and…
Let’s Talk at YouthLine
Post by Angela Hendrix, NW Noggin “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E. E. Cummings Youthline is a free, confidential, teen-to-teen 24/7 crisis helpline. Youth who are in crisis, or who want to talk with someone about anything they need help with, can…
Making a Difference
Post by Sara Moreno, undergraduate NW Noggin volunteer from Portland State University I’m an undergraduate in Psychology at Portland State University, and I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer at several NW Noggin events over the past few years. It always amazes me to see how much of an impact they…
Securing Brains @ BioGift
Post by Danny Leister-Gray, undergraduate at Portland State “I profess to learn and to teach anatomy not from books but from dissections, not from the tenets of Philosophers but from the fabric of Nature.” ~ William Harvey I am a student who recently transferred to Portland State University, and I’m currently…
Brain-casting, on a budget!
Post by artist, Noggin volunteer and PSU graduate Darrin Lane Holding a real human brain for the first time is an unforgettable experience, one that confronts you, directly, with the extraordinary physical underpinnings of your own thoughts, feelings, memories, dreams and personality. It encourages many young people to think deeply…
Myelinating @ MacLaren!
Our NW Noggin volunteers eagerly returned to meet with young people incarcerated at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility this week, to consider the state of all our changing, developing brains… “Because the brain is undergoing such rapid, fundamental changes at this stage of life, adolescents have a heightened capacity to learn…
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?.