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There are things in our environment that we cannot even see, and yet they can hurt us. Like dust mites. Dust mites are too small for the human eye to see, but they can cause serious allergies and even asthma. It is our job at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to help people know more about the things we may commonly encounter in our environment (both those that are hidden and those that are visible to us), and learn more about their potential affects on human health. The environment can be like a mine field, but just like with this game, if you are careful, you can avoid most of the dangers! And when you are through playing the mine field game, learn more about becoming a scientist yourself someday!

Text Description and Instructions: Try to move your smiley face through the landfield without encountering any mines. Press "number lock" on your keyboard number pad, and then use the "arrow" keys (2, 4, 6, and 8) to move the smiley face (which is YOU) from its original starting point in the top left corner to the red flag in the bottom right corner. After each move, before deciding where to move next, be sure to check the little box at the top of the game to see if you have moved closer to a mine.

This is a picture of a dust mite... Learn more about dust mites in your world by visiting our allergies and asthma site, or play the dust game!

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