Picnic Day is an annual open house event held in April at UC Davis. It typically draws more than 50,000 visitors to the campus to learn about the research and engage in family fun activities.

We appreciated the invitation from the UC Davis Superfund Research Center to our Trainees to come down and participate with them in outreach. Dr. Craig Marcus, Training Core Leader, traveled with two trainees, Erin Madeen (Project 1) and Andrea Knecht (Project 3).

UC Davis invited us to display posters about our Center within their display area.  Having the OSU SRP there was great, because UC Davis could direct their attention to our work to learn specifically about PAHs; how people are exposed and how they affect human and environmental health.

Besides research posters, the booth had over 125 children engaged in a ‘toxin hunt’ activity. The game was an excellent way for them to understand how SRP research can impact their health.  The parents became very interested in the toxins that are being studied with the Superfund Research Program.

Picnic Day was a great opportunity for Erin and Andrea to gain more experience in outreach by sharing posters with attendees and researchers. Dr. Marcus and the trainees also had opportunities to interact individually with the leadership and project leaders of several projects in the UC Davis Superfund Center to make additional connections and establish new collaborations. We look forward to hosting UC Davis trainees for our Research Day and other exchange opportunities.