The overall goal of the OSUEHS Centers COEP is to increase the public's ability to understand and to make informed decisions on issues relevant to the role of environmental factors in human health and disease. The COEP has eighteen current or past partnerships and collaborations with other OSU programs. The Center's COEP works actively with the Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) program. These programs jointly received an NIEHS dissemination grant in 1996 to bring environmental health science education to teachers, students and community in rural Oregon. The program has reached an increasing number of students, teachers and community members since 1996. The majority of the population affected by this program consists of Native Americans (25 percent) and Hispanics (46 percent). Each year this program focuses on a different environmental health science theme, and as a portion of the program each summer teachers come to OSU to be trained in an environmental health science subject area. Of the four themes presented yearly since 1996, two were directly related to a research focus of the Center (1996-Chemicals in the Home Environment and 1998-Water Quality and Human Health). The """"""""Lunch with a Scientist"""""""" portion of this program also involved Center investigators. Family Science Nights are also offered as a portion of this program through the COEP each fall. The final component of this program is the High School Challenge Weekend. Center members have served as environmental experts in this program by having students work in cooperative groups to develop solutions to environmental problems. Through the OSUEHS Center/SMILE Program, educational programs have been provided to over 1225 elementary, middle, and high school students, 125 teachers and 2000 community members. Rural communities (775 individuals) have received informal science education through family science nights. Center members are actively involved in programs such as Adventures in Learning, American Women in Science, and Science Education Partnerships. Teacher training components are currently being integrated into the program. Teacher workshops are being offered in the curriculum, Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. Sixty-five teachers in 1999 have been trained in this curriculum, with future workshops planned in 2000. Teacher training in the ToxRAP program also will be a major focus of the Center through support from the Society of Toxicology. The OSUEHS Center sponsors a yearly course, Your Health and Chemical Risks. This course and environmental health science articles in the monthly newspaper reaches over 3,500 community members each month.
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