EXHIBIT TAKES STUDENTS ON A SAFETY ADVENTURE

Home Safety Council, Osram Sylvania, Lowe's Home Improvement, and Weekly Reader team up to help kids learn about hazards in the home

By Emily Hoover, grade 4,and Ashford King, grade 6
Supervised by Mia Toschi, Editor & Spokesperson for Weekly Reader

A safe home is in your hands-that's what more than 500 students at Southside Elementary School in Versailles, Kentucky, learned while touring the Great Safety Adventure exhibit. The exhibit is led by Safety Rangers, who take students on a "tour" of the home of Rover, a hound who is constantly on the lookout for home safety hazards. Rover identifies hazards that could cause fire, falls, poisoning, or choking. He also reminds kids to call

a parent whenever there is danger. Hundreds of students learned the special signal for parents: Code Red Rover, grown-ups come over! Read two students' account of Rover's visit to their school.

Hi, our names are Emily and Ashford. We are reporters for Weekly Reader, an educational partner of the Great Safety Adventure program. We're going to explain what happened when the Great Safety Adventure arrived at our school this week.

The Great Safety Adventure travels to schools nationwide on two tractor-trailer trucks. Rover's 1,200-square-foot home opens up to become a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and backyard. Rover is pretty cool. He helps students find common safety hazards, such as a pan on a stove, a plugged-in hair dryer placed too close to a sink, and dangerous poisons.

One of our teachers said it was a great teaching tool because it was a hands-on experience for kids. "It made the students actually act out the safety lessons instead of just hearing about them, "said fourth-grade teacher Diane Hunt. "It was done in a very kid-friendly manner, and it was fun. The house was in bright colors, which especially appeals to younger kids. …It was all hands on, so the students were engaged."

We started out in Rover's living room, where we learned that toys on a staircase can create a very dangerous situation. In fact, the Safety Rangers told us that accidents in homes result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million hospital visits each year. So next time you don't want to pick up your toys, remember: Someone can get hurt! Don't forget that a safe home is in your hands.

The Safety Rangers are Jonathan Martin and Christy Vergara. They gave each student a magic flashlight that helped identify dangers in the home. The magic flashlights made the dangers disappear! Our next stop was in the kitchen, where the flashlights made dangerous poisons go away. Although safety is a serious subject, the Safety Rangers make learning about it fun.

"The students get so excited about the program. They have so much fun," Safety Ranger Christy said. "One of the best ways to learn is to have fun."

Another good way to learn is to repeat the lessons, Safety Ranger Jonathan told us. "Repetition is key, just like learning your multiplication tables. If you do something over and over again, you will learn." The Safety Rangers know what works. Southside Elementary School is just one stop. They visit hundreds of schools each year and speak to more than 140,000 students!

We interviewed some of the students in our school to see what they liked best about the Great Safety Adventure. Kindergartener Olivia said she liked learning about not touching hot stoves. Leo liked learning about how to plan and hold a fire drill at home.

Safety Ranger Jonathan said the fire drill is the real "wow" of the program. "We teach students that when fire goes up, we go down," says Safety Ranger Jonathan. "We've got fake smoke, so we teach the kids how to crawl to safety and stay low. They think it's really cool, but it's also teaching them an important lesson."

Safety Ranger Christy adds that the response from students is overwhelming. On many school visits, she says she is swamped with questions. "I've had a lot of kids ask me 'If there is a real fire, should I go back in and get my little brother or sister or my pet?' " Christy said. "Of course, we always tell the children to tell their parents and wait for the firefighters."

Speaking of firefighters, the Versailles Fire Department attended the event and gave the program their seal of approval. "Awesome, absolutely awesome," said Firefighter John Devore. "The program is really impressive-great teaching materials."

The Great Safety Adventure ends with students crawling out of the home and meeting at a tree, which is the designated safe spot. We learned that it's important for all families to identify a place outside of the home in case there is a fire. That way - if someone is missing, you know immediately."

Although the Great Safety Adventure was over at the end of the day, the education will continue. All 560 students at Southside Elementary School received a free booklet containing safety lessons, published by Weekly Reader. There is a space in the book where students can create a fire safety plan for their families. From the kindergarten students to the sixth graders, most participants said they couldn't wait to finish the assignment. Now, when was the last time 560 students were excited about doing their homework?

Facts about the Great Safety Adventure:

·  The Home Safety Council, a national nonprofit organization, teamed up with Lowe's Home Improvement in 1999 to create the Great Safety Adventure. The exhibit came to Versailles because a local manufacturer, Osram Sylvania, sponsored the trip to the Lexington area.

·  The Great Safety Adventure has reached an estimated 600,000 students since 1999.

·  It takes the Safety Rangers about one and a half hours to set up the exhibit.

·  The educational tour is geared for students in kindergarten through grade 8.

·  Weekly Reader is the educational partner and helped to create a new school curriculum called "Safety Rangers Spot Dangers." The curriculum reaches more than 9 million students nationwide.

For more information about The Great Safety Adventure or Home Safety Council's other educational programs, please visit www.homesafetycouncil.org.