A UW-CTRI team carried out the Wisconsin Idea by taking knowledge about tobacco use out to families as part of the Science on the Square. The event spans State Street, the central library, the children’s museum and the Capitol Square in Madison and welcomes hundreds of families to learn about science and public health.

Kids spun a colorful wheel provided by UW-CTRI Research Director Dr. Danielle McCarthy. She talked to them about how tobacco use can affect their brains and lungs.

“They were excited to spin the wheel and see the color they’d get,” said UW-CTRI Distinguished Communications Manager Chris Hollenback, who organized the booth. “Based on the color, they got to do a trivia question with Danielle or her son Grant, and they were excited to pick out a brain-shaped eraser of that same color to keep.”

The booth, called “Keep Your Lungs Squishy,” also focused on a life-like healthy lung (which is pink and squishy) and a black lung (which is hardened with irregular white masses). The lung models were donated by UW-CTRI Director Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria. The kids, teens and parents enjoyed squeezing them and learning about what smoking and vaping can do to lungs.

“We ran out of brain erasers,” Hollenback said. “And a few people took flyers or cards about how to address their smoking or vaping.”