Project Related:

Educational Resources

  • Teacher Workshops

    Grade: 6-12
    Resource: Teacher Workshops

  • Student Programs

    Grade: 6-12
    Resource: Summer day camps for students

  • Curricula/Literature

    Grade: 6-12
    Resource: Class Activities: Hand Hygiene, Your Skin, Hazardous Household Chemicals, Drinking Water

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Healthrich: Health Risks, Information, and Choices

Grant Code: R25RR016301

Funding Years: 09/30/2002 - 08/31/2005

Institution: Miami University Oxford

Department: Dept of Chemistry/ Biochemistry

Address:
4200 E. University Boulevard
Middletown, OH, 45042

PI:
SARQUIS, ARLYNE M.,
Phone: (513) 727-3278
Fax: (513) 727-3328
Email: sarquiam@muohio.edu

URL: http://www.terrificscience.org/healthrich/
Audience

young teens and their families; museum and science center educators, youth organization leaders, and others interested in informal education; and teachers of grades 5-8.

Subjects Addressed

environmental health science and making informed personal choices to reduce environmental health risks

Project Description

This Phase 1 project accomplished the following goals: 1. Develop EHS materials for young teen and family informal education programs. The following types of materials have been developed: five project handbooks written for young teens, a camp guide, and two outreach leader guides. 2. Provide training programs and supporting materials for informal educators, organization leaders, teachers, and others interested in EHS informal education. More than 500 educators participated in workshops, academies, and an affiliate training program. Project materials were also distributed to well over 2,000 teacher participants in Ohio Department of Education- and Ohio Board of Regents-funded programming. 3. Conduct young teen and family HealthRICH informal education events. Through project outreach, 285 HealthRICH events reached more than 5,200 adults and children. 4. Document and evaluate the impact of the partnership and its activities. The impact of project partnerships far exceeded our proposed impact. The partnership model had a synergistic effect, with impact building as partners drew new groups into the network

Resources for Sharing

1. Project handbooks are designed for self-directed learning by young teens. Each includes instructions for hands-on activities, readings, thought-provoking questions, and games. The following titles have been produced: Lather Up!; More Than Skin Deep!; Wet Your Whistle!; Breathing Room!; and Safe Not Sorry: Using Chemicals in the House and Barn. 2. Outreach guides are designed as leader-led explorations for museums, after-school programs, and similar venues. Each includes a guide for program leaders (with a possible script and discussion points), materials to promote the event, and take-home materials for families. The following titles have been produced: Hands Up and Bottled Up. 3. Camp guide offers outreach providers an array of hands-on activities designed to engage and inform campers on topics including disease control, healthy air, healthy skin, and water purification. Leader pages offer background materials, details for introducing and wrapping up the activities, procedure notes and tips, and answers to camper questions.

Dissemination Strategies

1. Outreach by Affiliates and Partners: Affiliates reached more than 1,400 individuals through outreach. HealthRICH program participants reached 5,200 adults and children. 2. Project Website: The HealthRICH website (www.terrificscience.org/healthrich/) provides web-based support to young teens and their families and outreach to the general public. 3. Collaborations: Several leading informal science educators who participated in the annual SEPA meetings have collaborated as field testers. 4. Summer Camps for Students: More than 230 students participated in HealthRICH hands-on activities through local and regional summer science camps. 5. Presentations by Project Staff: HealthRICH was featured at 12 exhibition booths and 8 presentations by project staff at major national conferences. 6. Project Publicity: The project was featured on a Cincinnati TV station during National Hand Washing Week. The American Chemical Society-s National Chemistry Week served as a springboard for disseminating activities in 2004 and 2006. Numerous articles appeared in newspapers about partners- outreach. An article on a HealthRICH hands-on activity will appear in the December 2006 Journal of Chemical Education.

Abstract

The overriding goal of the three-year HealthRICH: Health Risks, Information, and Choices project is to build an education partnership that will improve understanding of Environmental Health Science (EHS) by young teens and their families through informal education events and help them make informed personal choices to reduce environmental health risks. Materials and programming will emphasize four questions that are essential to the public's understanding of human health: What is the relationship between environmental toxins and human health? What interactions exist between one's genetics and susceptibility to environmentally induced disease? How can one recognize and evaluate real and perceived risks? How can individuals gain experience in applying scientific evidence? The specific project aims are: Aim 1) Develop EHS-based informal education materials for young teen and family programming. Aim 2) Provide EHS-based training programs and supporting materials for 350 museum and science center educators, youth organization leaders, and others interested in informal education. Aim 3) Conduct young teen and family HealthRICH informal education events. Aim 4) Document and evaluate the impact of the partnership and its activities.

Keywords

science center/museum; informal educators; middle school students; community organization; critical consumer; informed choices; healthy behavior; 4H; Girl Scouts; environmental health

Reports from this project:
Other projects from the same PI:
View the Poster as presented at the 2006
SEPA Program Director's Conference

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