New Magnet Lab Program Uses Science to Teach 4th and 5th Graders About Dangers of Tobacco

February 26, 1999

By Barbara Ash
Contact:
Dr. Sam Spiegel, (850) 644-5818
or Michael Smith, (850) 644-3934

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University and the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program will launch a new science program aimed at more than 400,000 fourth and fifth graders in 1,475 Florida schools.

The multimedia Science, Tobacco & You program will allow students to explore the harmful effects of tobacco on their bodies, ways to handle peer pressure to use tobacco and the impact of tobacco on their lives, while learning science, reading, mathematics and other academic disciplines - striving toward the Sunshine State Standards.

Throughout March, 335 teachers will participate in train-the-trainer sessions in 11 Florida cities. The first of the daylong sessions will be held at the Center for Integrating Research and Learning at the NHMFL in Tallahassee. For this event, Melbourne-based Harris Corp. will provide wireless networking technology to demonstrate the new cutting-edge technology and how it can accentuate teaching and learning at all levels.

"Our goal is to reach students before they enter middle school, which is when many children begin to smoke," said Sam Spiegel, curriculum developer and center director. "We hope to reduce the use of tobacco by educating students on tobacco issues and providing them with the education and resources to analyze those issues from a scientific standpoint."

Science, Tobacco & You is a result of the FSU/Florida Tobacco Pilot Program Initiative, launched in 1998 by the late Gov. Lawton Chiles. Last fall, FSU was awarded a $1.6 million one-year contract to produce innovative multi-disciplinary science-based curricula.

Spiegel and his team are part of a broader FSU task force supporting the state's Office of Tobacco control, according to Michael Smith, who will head the proposed Florida Tobacco Education Center at FSU. More than a dozen faculty and hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students contributed to the launching of this program in early 1998. FSU faculty have been sought out nationally and internationally for their pioneering work in youth tobacco control initiatives such as Science, Tobacco and You.

In April, the Science, Tobacco & You package will be delivered to schools across Florida.The package includes an interactive CD-Rom, access to the website (http://scienceu.fsu.edu), a Science Lab manipulatives package, electronic student and teacher guidebook, and a motivational training video which will provide teachers with an overview of the program and how to integrate it into their classrooms. In addition to the training and package, the 335 teachers who participate in the train-the-trainer sessions will receive a digital camera.

Workshops will be held in the following 11 cities:

• March 2 – Tallahassee
• March 8 – Orlando and St. Petersburg
• March 11 – Chipley and Tampa
• March 16 – St. Augustine
• March 18 – Daytona Beach
• March 23 – Pensacola and Miami
• March 24 – Fort Lauderdale
• March 26 – Boynton Beach

For information about the workshops, contact Karl Hook at: (850) 645-0034.