Presenting Toxicology to the Public: The Middle School

Toxicologists are being called upon to educate the public about the value of toxicity testing and the important role animals play in this regard. This article discusses the importance of toxicologists educating students in the middle school about the science of toxicology and suggests various ways to convey basic concepts of toxicity, dose response, and animal research to students in these grades. The methods described in this article have been developed and used successfully by the author in making presentations to middle school students.