Germs are everywhere, just waiting to hitch a ride. And whether you're working with horses or cows, sheep or goats, pigs or poultry, you want to protect them from disease, right?

So practice! By attending the first-ever Clean Escape event. Scheduled for May 30, Clean Escape will be hosted at the University of Vermont Miller Research and Education Center, by Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences research professor Dr. Julie Smith and 4-H State Livestock Educator Wendy Sorrell. 

4-H'ers and FFA members ages 14-18 are eligible, and Summer CREAM students (plus their friends) are also welcomed to sign up. 

All participants will be given the same mission: design a protocol, including using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like Tyvek coveralls, to stop germs from being tracked in or out of a simulated facility entrance. Then that strategy will be put to the test during a team relay. 

The goal? Think fast, move smart, and help your team race to victory without leaving a trace. Teams will be scored in large part on whether they track glow germ gel — a kind of lotion that's detectable only by ultraviolet light — from a cardboard box "outside" the simulated facility to a cardboard box "inside" the facility. 

A hand around a cut-out rectangle in a cardboard box that shows a footprint in a purple-blue light.
Glow germ gel will tell how effectively relay teams avoid tracking germs from one place to another. Photo by Elodie Reed.

The idea, said Dr. Julie Smith, is to get everyone thinking about the spread of things that they can't normally see.  

"[That] is a really important concept, whether they're working with animals or working with people or working with plants," she said. 

Registration is required for Clean Escape, and space is limited!

Date: May 30, 2026

Time: 9 a.m.-12 p.m., check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.

Location: UVM Miller Research and Education Center, 500 Spear Street, South Burlington, VT 05403

Who can participate: 4-H'ers and FFA members ages 14-18 as of Jan. 1, 2026, and UVM Summer CREAM students and friends

Registration: https://go.uvm.edu/cleanescape

What to bring: Creativity and a problem-solving mindset. A full water bottle with your name on it.

What else to be prepared for: Dress appropriately for the weather because the activity space is not climate-controlled. Light snacks will be provided. Feel free to bring a snack that does not need to be refrigerated and lunch for the ride home.

Accommodations: To request language interpretation/translation assistance and/or a disability-related accommodation to participate in this program, please call or email Wendy Sorrell at (802) 656-7641 or wendy.sorrell@uvm.edu as soon as possible so we may assist you.

Want to learn more? Tune in to an Across the Fence episode about the Clean Escape event on May 18, 2026, either on YouTube or at 12:15 p.m. on WCAX channel 3.