Media will teach children fire safety
Dispatches
Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), producers of children’s educational television, has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to explore the feasibility of using various media to teach children how to protect themselves from natural hazards.
The first phase of the multi-year project involves research to assess children’s knowledge of hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes, and the level of safety information that children can absorb. The grant money will also be used to analyze approaches that will help prepare the children to deal with these emergencies.
The results are expected to suggest appropriate safety messages and ways to present the information to three groups: preschoolers, 7-9 year olds, and 8-12 year olds.
In addition, CTW will implement an outreach program using its Community Education Services field network to introduce the project to the public. This network will train emergency services personnel, parents, and teachers from communities throughout the country to participate in and support multi-hazard public education efforts.
