On Saturday, May 4, 2024, the Infectious Diseases Institute, in partnership with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and Ohio State Extension, educated hundreds of attendees on ticks and tick-borne disease at the COSI Big Science Celebration. The event, which is the largest of its kind in the Midwest, brings science to the community to enhance strategies to build a future STEM workforce and educate attendees on various scientific topics and technologies.
The IDI exhibit, “Tick Tock, Tick Talk,” featured interactive tick safety demonstrations, tick-removal stations, examining tick samples under microscopes, and information on preventing tick bites. This was the fourth year that the IDI participated in the event and was one of the many Ohio State units with exhibits to engage members of the community through “cool science” activities. The Ohio State University has been a major sponsor of this COSI event since its inception in 2019.