WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton welcomed an announcement today by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that the agency is providing a total of $2.44 million in funding through the Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPAs) to the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Hall of Science. SEPAs provide two to five years of support to stimulate scientific curiosity and encourage hands-on science education activities. With an emphasis on reducing health disparities, the program's K-12 projects target students in rural and underserved communities. By supporting collaboration among scientists, educators and community organizations, SEPA projects help improve public understanding of NIH-funded medical research and encourage young people to choose science as a career path.

“This funding is welcome news for the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Hall of Science, and for all of the students who will benefit from the educational programs these institutions are developing,” said Senator Clinton. “By providing interactive and innovative programs we are helping today’s students foster a stronger understanding of health sciences, build a better educational foundation, and promoting the sciences as an attractive career path.”

The American Museum of Natural History will receive a five-year award of $1.09 million for their Human Health and Human Bulletins: Scientists and Teens Explore Health Sciences project. This project has three complementary components: the development of new productions for the American Museum of Natural History's digital media and documentary exhibition program, "Human Bulletins," featuring the newest health-related research; a mini-course entitled "Hot Topics in Health Research," covering genetics, epidemiology, research ethics and human health and evolution; and a "drop-in" science club where students and museum visitors meet monthly to watch a Human Bulletins news program and engage in informal discussions with significant researchers in the fields of evolutionary science and human health. Ultimately, the project aims to give students the means to critically process the information they receive about public health, see the relevance of human health science to their lives and pursue careers in health science.

The New York Hall of Science will receive a five-year award of $1.35 million for their Evolution and Health Traveling Exhibition and Education Programs. This project will result in a 1000-square-foot interactive traveling exhibition intended to engage middle and high-school students, educators and the general public in inquiry-based learning about the role of evolution and natural selection in health, illness, prevention and treatment. In addition, teacher development programs and online activities focusing on health issues seen from an evolutionary perspective will be developed and disseminated with the exhibition on a national tour. While there are many museum exhibitions on health, this will be only one of two to take an evolutionary perspective, and the only one to explore the relationship between health and natural selection. The exhibition will increase visitors' comprehension of their own health issues by fostering a better understanding of evolution and natural selection.

According to the NIH, SEPA projects advance science and health education through ways such as interactive traveling exhibits, 3-D animated lessons, virtual and mobile labs and online teaching curricula. Through diverse venues, these new projects will continue the SEPA tradition of encouraging the next generation of health professionals while advancing public understanding of health and medicine. A full description of the projects is available at www.ncrr.nih.gov/sepa/2008.

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