Partnerships

As part of a long-term strategy to make sun safety a sustainable and community-based effort, SunWise has expanded from a traditional K-8 classroom audience to include a number of informal education, sports, and non-profit sun protection organizations. By forming partnerships, we are able to pursue a more comprehensive approach to teaching children and caregivers about sun safety.

• Science Centers and Informal Education Organizations
• SHADE Foundation
  • SunWise with SHADE Poster Contest
• U.S. Soccer Foundation, Major League Soccer and the American Academy of Dermatology
• Meteorologists

Science Centers and Informal Education Organizations

SunWise partnered with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (http://www.aaas.org ) to expand our reach to kids. Working with science centers, parks, children's museums, aquaria, and other informal education organizations nationwide, the goal is to reinforce sun safety messages across a broad spectrum of educational venues.

AAAS hosted regional workshops in several cities in 2004 and 2005 to provide free training and materials to science center staff for use in their programs. Through museum programming such as summer camp programs, planetarium shows, children's theater, and special events, kids learn about the importance of sun safe behaviors with an emphasis on science.

SunWise workshops have been held at many science centers such as the McWane Center in Birmingham, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, The Peggy Notebaert Center in Chicago, the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, and the Science Place in Dallas.

Museums frequently host SunWise teacher workshops as part of their continuing education program. Teachers attend the 2-hour or half-day workshops and receive a free SunWise kit. Teacher workshops are rapidly growing in popularity and school districts in several states are now sponsoring teacher and school nurse workshops. If you would like more information about these workshops, please contact us. To learn more about the SunWise program for Informal Education Institutions, download the brochure for Science Centers. (PDF, 2 p., 395 KB)

In addition, SunWise attends the Association for Children's Museums annual conferences where we meet with museum administrators and education directors from children's museums across the country. To learn more about the ACM, visit their web site, http://www.childrensmuseums.org. .

SHADE Foundation

The SHADE Foundation, created by Shonda Schilling, melanoma survivor and wife of Boston Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling, is a nonprofit dedicated to the education, prevention, and detection of skin cancer. SHADE embraced the SunWise tool kit and requires that schools who approach their foundation for resources implement SunWise. EPA is proud to partner with SHADE.

SunWise with SHADE National Poster Contest

SHADE also sponsors a yearly poster contest. Past winners got to throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, MA. This year, SunWise and SHADE are working together to sponsor the "SunWise with SHADE" Poster Contest. For more information, please visit the SunWise with SHADE Poster Contest page.

US Soccer Foundation, Major League Soccer and the American Academy of Dermatology

As one of our long-term efforts to promote sun safety through athletics, SunWise has partnered with the US Soccer Foundation, Major league Soccer and the American Academy of Dermatology on the Make Sun Safety Your Goal!® campaign. Through this partnership, we have promoted sun safe behaviors by sponsoring game day events that include give-aways such as sun safety posters and bookmarks, lip balm, visors, and posters. In previous years, SunWise also sponsored several public service campaigns that included placing sun safety messages in the public transportation systems of Chicago and Washington, DC.

For this year's campaign, make sure to pledge to make sun safety your goal . Everyone who pledges will be entered into a drawing for tickets to an MLS game.

If you would like more information about a public service announcement (print or radio) for your community, please contact us.

Meteorologists

SunWise, in partnership with the National Weather Service (NWS) and the American Meteorological Society (AMS), has developed a tool kit specifically designed for broadcast and operational meteorologists. The kit is intended to assist meteorologists in educating children about UV radiation and sun protection.

Based on the traditional SunWise Tool Kit for educators, the meteorologist tool kit includes:

• Fun, educational and interactive activities for school group presentations. The activities are designed to take minimal time and be easily incorporated into weather presentations.
• A UV-sensitive frisbee. Several activities in the tool kit require the use of the Frisbee, which turns bright purple when exposed to UV radiation.

If you would like a copy of the Meteorologist Tool Kit, you may download the tool kit activities (PDF). (53 pp, 2.2MB, About PDF) To see all the materials that we offer, please visit our publications page.

See Paul Gross, WDIV-TV Senior Meteorologist and Producer of Weather in Detroit, MI and 2004 Shining Star Award winner, talk about the health effects of UV radiation using the SunWise frisbee in this Quicktime video. (MOV, 4.2 MB. You will need the Apple QuickTime Player to play this video.)

Please check back, as we will be updating this page with details and dates on specific partner sun safety events!