Free Health and Safety Expo planned May 10-11 in Pasco
The popular and free annual Health and Safety Expo at TRAC in Pasco is being expanded this year to include a focus on STEM — science, technology, engineering and math education.
The expo, with about 170 exhibitors, is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 10 and 11.
It is supported by the Department of Energy, Hanford contractors and the Hanford unions, and thousands of Hanford workers attend.
But it also is popular with families and schools, and the STEM focus this year should provide even more opportunities for interactive activities that appeal to children. Last year, about 40,000 people attended.
This year, participants can walk through a 10-foot-high inflatable colon called Casper, short for Capture All Suspicious Polyps and Eradicate Rapidly, an exhibit sponsored by the Center for Community Health Promotion.
HPMC Occupational Medical Services with have the 12-foot-high MEGA lungs on display, educating people about lung disease and lung health.
The American Chopper motorcycle built to promote the “811 Call Before You Dig” program will be on display. The Delta High Electrical Vehicle Club also will have two of its cars on display.
The Hanford Patrol will bring its Emergency Vehicle Operations Course driving simulator to the event.
The Vehicle Crash Demonstration will be back at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day, complete with police cars, ambulances, tow trucks and wrecked cars.
Those on hand to dramatize the consequences of impaired or drunken driving include the Washington State Patrol, the Benton and Franklin county sheriff’s offices, Hillcrest Memorial Center, the Franklin County coroner, Pasco Auto Wrecking and Cassaday Towing.
After each demonstration, the Franklin PUD will use its safety trailer to simulate the dangers of electricity and show how to avoid potentially deadly mistakes when working near power lines.
Children can participate in bicycle rodeos both days from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Those who complete the rodeo will be given a properly fitted helmet, as long as the helmets last, and can enter a raffle to win a bicycle.
The Red Cross also is expected to be on hand to collect blood for at least part of the expo.
This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Free Health and Safety Expo planned May 10-11 in Pasco."