Community Environmental Health (CEH) Kits
Community Environmental Health (CEH) Kits
The kits: View a short overview of all the CEH kits. These kits were developed in partnership with Science Take-Out and three other environmental health community engagement programs from across the country.
Each CEH kit includes the following materials:
- Participant guide for the kit. The kit instructions are graphically rich, based on realistic stories, integrate hands-on activities, and involve limited reading.
- Kit bag containing all supplies required for the kit activities. Supplies are low cost and reusable (or easily replenished).
- Presenter guide that lists core concepts developed through the kit activities. The presenter guide also includes background information and suggestions for group discussions related to actions that could be taken to address environmental health hazards.
You can get more information about the kits and how to order them from the Science Take-Out Community Environmental Health kits page.
The project: Science Take-Out received funding in 2014 from a NIEHS small business grant (R41ES023706) to develop eight classroom environmental health science kits for middle- and high-school teacher use. Starting in 2017, a second NIEHS small business grant (R42ES023706) supported adapting these kits for use in diverse community settings.
The partners:
Science Take-Out partnered with the CEC and three other community engagement programs to provide feedback on the kits and to pilot test the kits in diverse settings.
Tips for using the kits:
- Read the presenter guide! Each kit includes a presenter guide (example presenter guide) to help plan use of the kits. The Presenter guide also includes background information and suggestions for group discussions.
- Let them go! Many presenters find it best to simply hand out kits to pairs of participants and let them work independently, then follow up with a discussion.
- Encourage discussion! The idea of working in pairs is to get people talking, interacting and asking questions.
- Add local information! These kits are meant to add interaction and inquiry to existing programs. Each kit includes resources for more background information on the topic. You may also wish to contact local, state health, or environmental agencies to learn about relevant local resources.
- Adapt to your audience! Some groups may prefer that the presenter read the stories and kit instructions out loud as they work through the kit activities. Other groups may prefer to start with a brief introductory presentation before doing the kits.