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
Frontal lobes @ Franklin
Popping off (& pot) @ p:ear
Cellphones & Receptors at Franklin SUN
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
Noggin mug winner in Astoria!
Post written by Noggin volunteer Kim Engeln (OHSU) Last weekend I hit the road to bring the neuroscience of caffeine and alcohol to beautiful Astoria, Oregon with Alfredo Zuñiga, Jacob Schoen, Jeff Leake, and Bill Griesar… I was so excited to hear that our talk back in April at Velo…
Astoria Noggins: Tipsy Buzzed Mice @ Street 14
This week NW Noggin visited historic Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River, to explore some fascinating links between two local favorites – caffeine and alcohol – and the combined actions and effects of these popular drugs on human and rodent behavior and brains… “Green Douglas firs where the…
Nurturing Noggin Nodes @ OHSU
Post and pictures by Jessica Patching-Bunch, NW Noggin Resource Council member NW Noggin is everywhere..! This week a dozen bright and eager high schoolers from all over the Portland area were welcomed to tour various departments at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) as part of a STEM learning program…
Midbrains and Monkeys (Camp Monkey 2017!)
Post written by Jacob Schoen, Noggin Resource Council member for Portland State University… NW Noggineers had a chance to join “Camp Monkey” with dozens of middle school students on Friday at OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center. This summer camp includes a wide range of activities from testing DNA to…
Brush strokes & brains!
SciArt Magazine is published by the innovative SciArt Center, both an online and “pop up” events organization based in New York City that provides opportunities for artists and scientists, and promotes “cross-disciplinary approaches and interactions.” We are honored to share and support their mission! SUBSCRIBE: SCIART MAGAZINE They just released…
Awe, amazement & delight
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats Including phenomenal painting and sculpture inspired by scientific investigation and discovery..! Noggin was honored to join the opening reception for a remarkable SciArt group exhibition curated by Sara McCormick, featuring Northwest artists Kindra Crick, Julian…
Synapsing with Summer @ SAIL!
The Summer Academy to Inspire Learning (SAIL) is a Portland State University program (modeled after the original SAIL program at the University of Oregon) that partners with Youth Engaged in Science (YES!) in the Fair Neuroimaging Lab at OHSU… SAIL’s mission is “to encourage promising under-privileged middle and high school…
Cellphones & Receptors at Franklin SUN
Inequity is inherent in U.S. education. Many private schools, and public schools in higher income districts offer multiple electives, and further opportunities for academic, athletic and social engagement. Wealthier families often pay for summer programs, travel, hire tutors, and otherwise supplement school experiences with contacts, experiences and connections that can…
Memories @ MedCure
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose…” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go! MedCure is an Oregon company that connects people donating their bodies to science with doctors learning to successfully perform surgery, researchers developing and testing new…
Jeff Leake Joins Teacher Advisory Council @ PAM!
NW Noggin is a proud partner of the Education department at the Portland Art Museum, and Jeff Leake, an exceptional artist, educator and Arts Coordinator for Noggin was just appointed to serve on their Teacher Advisory Council for a two year term! Council members collaborate with Education staff to promote meaningful student…
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?.