Project EXCITE (Environmental health science Explorations through Cross-Disciplinary and Investigative Team Experiences) is one such spin-off program inspired by the TAPESTRIES experience. It was cowritten by Jodi Haney and Charles Keil, who are both BGSU professors.

An interdisciplinary approach, EXCITE uses environmental health issues as a vehicle for teaching science through several subjects.

How it works:

Springfield schools may take on the local issues of urbanization. Each subject would focus their lesson plans around this subject and collaborate with other teachers when necessary.

Social Studies would discuss "urban sprawl," or how communities grow around a city.

Science teachers indicate the change in air quality as a population grows.

Mathematics would plot population growth, using equations to determine the size of a cummunity in 10, 20, or 30 years as well as anticipate the rise in air pollution.

Language Arts would have students use the information they had gathered in their other classes to develop a packet to communicate their findings and alert the community.

This team of four teachers, representing the subjects of English, Social Studies, Mathematics, and Science, collaborate in integrating environmental health science into their lesson plans.