How fast does your brain adapt to new stimuli? How are robots helping scientists in the lab? And what does a brain actually feel like?

These are just some of the many questions we answered during our first-ever public open house, Inside Open Science. On Saturday, September 19, we welcomed hundreds of community members to celebrate the power of open science and engage with our work in a whole new way.

“This was a unique opportunity for the community to engage with cutting-edge research happening right here in Seattle, and for our scientists to talk directly with a curious public about our work,” said Kaitlyn Casimo, Senior Manager of the Education & Engagement team. “Our goal was to make science relatable and accessible,” with attendees encouraged to explore over a dozen stations at their own pace. The activities highlighted all our different areas of research, while team members staffed “Ask-a-scientist" booths and gave lab talks about their work.

At one of the busiest stations, visitors were able to personally experience the effects of neuroplasticity through Noggin’ Goggles. These prism goggles alter visual perception, forcing your brain to adapt in real time to new sensory input. At another, they played a board game about foraging mice while learning how virtual reality is used to help us evaluate how mice make decisions, and what these insights can teach us about our own thought processes.  

On each floor, visitors also had a chance to speak with Allen Institute staff and ask them about their career paths, current projects, or general science questions like how we decide what to study or what scientific achievements we think more people should know about. By humanizing the science behind the research, we hope to demystify and demonstrate how foundational and open science accelerate discovery.

“Because we’re focused mostly on basic science, it can be harder to convey to people the impact of our work,” explained Troy Mead, Education and Engagement Coordinator at the Institute. “Through public outreach like Inside Open Science, we can invite our Seattle community to see for themselves just how exciting and important basic, open research is. Whether it’s showing how an atlas of the whole brain led to a recent breakthrough treatment for Dravet Syndrome or someone simply using a microscope for the first time in decades, we’re able to empower members of the public to make their own connections to the discoveries happening at the Allen Institute.”

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Inside Open Science will return for a second year on Saturday, September 18, 2027.

For more opportunities to explore engaging events happening at the Allen Institute, check out our Events page or sign up for our monthly newsletter!  

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