Here is the sixth installment of ideas for incorporating health programming into your overall library programming strategy. Keep looking for us on the first of each month to find programming ideas for three months out. Still working on spring programming? See April: Autism Awareness Month, May: Healthy Vision Month, and June: National Home Safety Month.
One in five of today’s children will someday have some form of skin cancer; melanoma is the most common cancer in young adults, ages 25 to 29; approximately, one American dies from skin cancer every hour. These facts are compelling reasons to make time for Ultraviolet (UV) Safety Month programming this July at your library, and promoting UV Safety programming will be easy with these free resources:
- Quick and Easy: printable coloring pages, puzzles, activity booklets and more for children
- Featured Resources: books, information, and organizations to contact
- Book Club: book discussion group ideas
- Tie Ins: to summer reading and more
- Community Resources: local UV safety and skin cancer resources
- Publicity Resources: free graphics, web banners and buttons, press releases, Twitter tweets, and more
- Fun Stuff: fun, interactive links
Quick and Easy
Coloring Pages:
- Slip, Slop, Slap & Wrap from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Be Sun Safe from the Canadian Dermatology Association
- Year-Round Sun Safety from Health Canada
Puzzles and Activities:
- “SunSmart with Sid” full color activity booklet
- Sun Safety maze from the Weather Channel
- Shine a Light on Safety hidden picture puzzle from the Weather Channel
- (Sun) Block of Hidden Words from the Weather Channel
- Living With Sunshine word search from CHealth
- Be Sun Wise! crossword puzzles from the EPA: version 1, version 2, version 3
- SunWise Sun Scramble from the EPA
- Mission: Sunwise activity booklet from the EPA
- SPF Math: Sun Protection Factor – story problems from The Weather Channel
Other Printables:
- How to Stay SunSafe Bookmarks – full color bookmarks to print
- Slip, Slop, Slap & Wrap stickers to print from the EPA
- Sun Safe Certificate to print
Featured Resources
Books for Children and Adults
- SunSafe Reading List from Dartmouth Medical School – This annotated list of picture books, chapter books, and books for older children is a few years old, but is definitely worth looking at.
- Sun Safety Books for Children – more current books for children
- Sun Safety Books for Teens and Adults
Sun Safety Reference Information Links
- What IS the Ultra Violet (UV) Index? Reliable information from the National Weather Service
- What is today’s UV forecast in my state? A map updated daily by the National Weather Service.
- What is tomorrow’s UV forecast in my city? A daily bulletin from the National Weather Service.
- Are there any UV alerts in my area? A map updated daily by the National Weather Service.
- What is today’s UV index Forecast in other countries?
- Is skin cancer becoming more common or less common? Information from the American Academy of Dermatology
Organizations to Contact
- American Academy of Dermatology
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- American Cancer Society
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Skin Cancer
- Melanoma Education Foundation
- National Cancer Institute: Cancer Information Service
- National Cancer Institute: Melanoma
- Skin Cancer Foundation
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SunWise Program for Kids and Caregivers
Book Club
Observe UV Safety Month this July by choosing one of these discussion-provoking books for your summer book club:
- FDR’s Deadly Secret, by Steven Lomazow and Eric Fettman. New York, NY : PublicAffairs, ©2009. Did Franklin Delano Roosevelt die from skin cancer? A biography with photographs and medical records that examines the possibility. Find a copy online.
- The Eclipse Blues: Elements of Global Warming and Color-ism (a novel), by W James Richardson. Bloomington, IN : AuthorHouse, 2009. What happens when, due to global warming, skin cancer becomes a pandemic among those with fair complexions? Sure to be a conversation starter.
Tie Ins
July means summer reading!
“One World, Many Stories” is the 2011 Collaborative Summer Library Programming theme for children. Emphasizing UV Safety along with world cultures will be easy with these ideas:
- Traditional Chinese Hat craft: Chinese farmers have been protecting themselves from the sun for centuries. Watch this video or see this worksheet to see how to make one.
- The Sun Shines Around the World research activity for middle and high school students
- SunWise Virtual Vacation research activity for middle and high school students
Sun Safety Story Time Ideas:
- Sun safety songs: new words to familiar preschool tunes from Sun Safe Central — includes links to audio files.
- The Sunscreen Dance by the Swingset Mamas: lyrics and mp3 file
Zoo Field Trip Tie Ins:
from the San Diego State University Research Foundation’s Sunwise Stampede
- Before you go:
- Play the online Sunwise Stampede “Who Am I?” game to learn about how animals protect themselves from the sun.
- Give these Sunwise Tips to parents, so they can prepare their children for a day of sun safe fun.
- Entertain the kids with some Sunwise Animal Activity Sheets while you are all waiting for the bus:
- Animal Maze
- Animal Crossword
- Animal Search word puzzle
- Who Am I? drawing activity
- At the zoo:
- Search for Sunwise Animals with this nifty checklist.
- Search for Animal Skins scavenger hunt.
Community Resources
Find a professional to speak at your library, or other local resources here:
- American Academy of Dermatology: Find a free skin cancer screening or a dermatologist in your area.
- American Cancer Society: Find resources in your area.
- The Skin Cancer Foundation: Physician Finder
Publicity Resources
Use this free material alongside your library’s July programming information – newsletter, blog, posters, or flyers – to promote both your library’s programs and National UV Safety Month.
- Badges and Buttons from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Injury Center
- Be SunSafe logo from Dartmouth Medical School SunSafe program
- UV Index Clip Art Collection Files and Clip Art Overview and Notes from the World Health Organization
- Print Ads from the Centers for Disease Control to add to your library’s newsletter.
- Video Public Service Announcements from the American Academy of Dermatology to link to your library’s Facebook or Twitter page
- UV Index Widget to add to your library’s website from the EPA
- National UV Safety Month 2011 Toolkit from healthfinder.gov includes:
- Sample Media or Newsletter and/or Press Release to customize (p. 2)
- Ready to go tweets with links to send out from your library’s Twitter (p.3)
- Tips on planning a national health observance (p. 7)
- UV Safety Month Badge to add to your library’s website or blog
Fun Stuff
Goof off at the reference desk and amaze your friends on Twitter . . . OR add some fun to a library program, your library website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed:
- Avoiding Ultraviolet Game – stay away from Ultraviolet and stay alive
- SunGuard Man Matching Game – sun safety in Spanish and English
- Save Your Skin Game – click fast on the sun safety items
- Online Word Search from the EPA
- Smart Sun Safety: Fun in the Sun 101 – interactive quizzes and more from the Skin Cancer Foundation
- UV Level App: Get daily UV levels on your cell phone with this nifty mobile app.
- iGoogle Gadget: stay up to date with the current UV Index
- What’s Your Sun Safety IQ? from the American Cancer Society
- Skin Cancer Risk Tool from the National Cancer Institute
Do you have additional National UV Safety Month programming ideas that you want to share? Feel free to leave a comment.
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
You must be logged in to post a comment. Otherwise, feel free to register for free and post a comment.