Together with AJ Smith ’29 and Sam McCusker Alvarez ’26, the team launched a uniquely creative approach to combining fun engagement with memorable safety info and prizes. The sponsoring staff member for ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s first time participating was the new Environmental Health and Safety Specialist for Academic Affairs, Melinda Box, who contributed funding and coordination.

The sponsoring association, CSHEMA, supports this nationwide event in February of each year by providing the theme, resources and professional community support. Participants include students and lab safety professionals on campuses of all sizes across the nation. Participants submit summaries of what they rolled out and are judged based on clarity, originality, creativity, quality, messaging, marketing, branding and impact. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ competed against five other entrants in the small institution category and won first prize. Winners were announced on July 19 at the award ceremony that was part of the annual CSHEMA conference.

To win, the team of students at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ went above and beyond the resources CSHEMA provided in their event organization. They put together a film festival, website, bingo night, tabling event with hands-on activities, scavenger hunt, and a lab mystery game night. They also created collectable prizes including hazard symbol dice, buttons, plaques, and parody-labeled Flubber. In addition, they contributed to International Coffee with safety-themed cookies and film festival discussion. For this major undertaking, they were also awarded a Residential Campus Advisory Committee Living & Learning Grant and received funding from ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Belk Library.

“I’m so proud of all the phenomenally creative ideas this team generated and made happen,” said Box. “They poured their hearts and souls into something they value greatly, generating and sustaining a culture of safety in their community.”

For more information, contact Melinda Box at mbox@elon.edu or (336) 278-6225.

Scavenger Hunt
Monday – Friday, Feb. 9 – 13

Join in the competition by racking up credits for attendance, safety knowledge, and equipment identification. Win awesome, hand-crafted, collectible prizes.

Hazard Symbol Bingo
Monday, Feb. 9, 7 – 8 p.m., East Commons Lounge

Have fun and learn essential safety symbols while you play. Win Flubber-themed prizes.

Film Festival: “Flubber” (1997)
Monday, Feb. 9, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., East Commons Lounge

Join us for laughs, Flubber-themed refreshments, and a fun departure from stodgy protocols and esoteric regulations.

Play It Safe!
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 4 – 7 p.m., IQ Atrium

Engage in hands-on safety activities with virtual reality and mood-setting black lights. Test your decontamination skills, firefighting abilities, and safety knowledge, and win collectible event swag.

Film Festival: Meltdown Three Mile Island
Tuesday & Wednesday, Feb. 10 & 11, 8 – 10 p.m., Sato Commons Media Room

Experience the stories of nearby residents who lived through and cleaned up after the worst nuclear reactor accident in the United States history. Learn how close conditions came to a widespread major accident.

Safety First, Coffee Always with International Coffee
Thursday, Feb. 12, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Discuss the international comparison of nuclear reactor accidents and their connection to modern practices of lab safety.

Film Festival: K19: The Widowmaker
Thursday, Feb. 12, 8 – 10 p.m., LaRose Student Commons

Become immersed in the world of nuclear-powered submarines with this dramatization of an actual near-miss nuclear reactor accident. Starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, this movie tells the story of the heroic and resourceful efforts of a Russian crew to prevent meltdown and possible explosion.

Lab Mystery Night
Friday, Feb. 13, 7 – 8 p.m., LaRose Theatre (KOBC)

Compete to find out “who done it”! Who left the unlabeled beaker of clear liquid in this random location? Where did it come from, and more importantly, what is it? Be among the first to solve the mystery and win unique prizes.

Film Festival: Radium Girls
Friday, Feb. 13, 8 – 10 p.m., LaRose Theatre (KOBC)

Follow this group of determined watch dial painters as they discover the reality of the hazards they have been exposed to and pursue justice for themselves and workers of the future. Scavenger Hunt prizes will be awarded before the movie screening.