Superfund Research Program

Outreach Core

Project Leaders: Carol L. Folt, David Goudy, Nancy Serrell
Grant Number: P42ES007373
Funding Period: 2000 - 2005

Project-Specific Links

Final Progress Reports

Year:   2004 

This is the final year that the core’s SBPR grant will support the development of "Environmental Detectives," a new multidisciplinary environmental science curriculum for middle school students in rural Vermont and New Hampshire. The curriculum is based on concepts central to the program’s research program, emphasizing the active, inquiry-based learning scientists employ in their investigations of the natural world. With community collaborators from the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont and local middle school teachers, Dr. Folt’s team developed curriculum materials that were tested and refined in 21 middle schools, and the program is currently being implemented in eight schools within a one-hour radius of Hanover, New Hampshire. The team’s Summer Teacher’s Institutes have been shown to be a valuable professional development opportunity for teachers, providing them access to other educators from across the region, science specialists from the Museum and practicing scientists from Dartmouth College.  Overall, more than 1000 middle school students from Vermont and New Hampshire have been involved in environmental health science issues and investigations through this program. One aspect of the program that works especially well is the face-to-face contact between Dartmouth scientists and the students and teachers who live in the region. The jointly developed curriculum provides a common language for scientists, students and teachers that make classroom interactions more relevant and interactive. Researchers visiting classrooms are involved in environmental health science research; students, too, are designing and carrying out experiments. Consequently, students have focused questions for the researchers. Students particularly enjoy hearing that scientists face the same issues in experimental design that the students are experiencing. Environmental Detectives culminates each school year with an inter-school student symposium, where student research teams from participating schools present their research to Dartmouth scientists, parents, teachers and school administrators. Though the project no longer fits the criteria for SBRP outreach funding, the curriculum will continue to be supported in part by the Montshire Museum with assistance from Dartmouth’s scientists. Other outreach activities this year included the creation of New England Mercury Consortium, and a pilot childhood lead poisoning prevention project with the city of Manchester, New Hampshire. Core investigators have recently completed a pilot study of lead poisoning screening practices in the city, and a report on legislative approaches to curbing the risk of lead poisoning. Each is informing the efforts of the Greater Manchester Partners Against Lead Poisoning.