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
Axons to AMWA
Brains examining brains
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
Frontal lobes @ Franklin
Post by Jessica Patching-Bunch, Noggin Resource Council member for Communications NW Noggin volunteers were welcomed back to Karen Polis’s Psychology classroom at Franklin High School in Portland to continue exploring the wonders of the brain. We’d already spent one morning investigating the link between brain activity and incredible music… LEARN…
From Moon Hooch to Split Cerebrums: What teens ask about brains
By Binyam Nardos, Noggin Resource Council member for OHSU The general topic of the day at Portland’s Franklin High School was “music and the brain.” But as is often the case when young minds get together with neuroscientists, it didn’t take long before the conversations started covering all sorts of…
Frequencies @ Franklin: Your brain on sax!
Our noggins are no strangers to sunrise, as teenagers are often expected to appear for classes that begin at 8:00am or earlier, despite research evidence suggesting brain benefits from a later start to school… LEARN MORE: Sleep in Adolescents: The Perfect Storm LEARN MORE: Noggins in Nod: The science of sleep…
Synapsing for Science!
Spring is a notoriously stormy and changeable season in the Pacific Northwest, yet despite the occasional downpour, we added a sizable Noggin contingent to Portland’s impressively thronged March for Science on Saturday (Earth Day) to support continued public investment in scientific research, along with arts-integrated STEM outreach and education… Our waterproof volunteers included…
Drunk mice on espresso – what could go wrong?
Alcohol and caffeine – and science and art – are clearly dear to Northwest hearts (and dopamine networks), so an unusually large crowd gathered amidst the bikes and beverages at Velo Cult this week to learn about what combining these drugs might do to our brains… We were there to learn about research…
Kayla Townsley: The neuroscience of teaching art & science
Post written by Kayla Townsley, an undergraduate in Biology at Portland State University and an NIH BUILD EXITO scholar When considering a holistic approach to education the terms “Renaissance woman” and “Renaissance man” come to mind. Although a bit of a romanticized cliche, it embodied the ideal of a complete education–and a…
Midbrains & more @ MESA!
“Did you ever wonder how the brain works With all its simplicity or even quirks I sit here with wheels reeling in my head…” –Marisol Rodriguez With our brains inspired by sunlight and caffeine, we carted boxes of pipe cleaners, cerebral models, printing ink, gels and human cerebrums across the idyllic suburban campus…
Psychopaths, Touch & Sleep!
We love to promote brain awareness in classrooms and public venues all year long, but a definite highlight is the extraordinary lecture series organized by the OHSU Brain Institute during Brain Awareness Season! Our outreach volunteers look forward to hearing from experts invited by OHSU, and presenting brains and brain-related art to lecture attendees……
Noggins in Nod: The science of sleep
From Breakfast on through all the day At home among my friends I stay, But every night I go abroad Afar into the land of Nod – Robert Louis Stevenson Our volunteers get more questions about sleep and dreams than almost any other topic. Adolescents, often beset by anxiety and…
Jessica Patching-Bunch: Sparking curiosity!
By Jessica Patching-Bunch, Psychology @ Portland State University & NW Noggin Resource Council member for Communications What role has NW NOGGIN played in shaping my educational and career trajectory? The answer to this question has been harder for me to articulate than I would have thought because my involvement with NW…
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?.