National Association for Gifted Children Curriculum Award-Winner!

Mosquito Coast explores the problem of West Nile virus, which has infected a student in a local school. Students take on the role of medical entomologists whose job it is to assess the level of risk that the other students face and to make recommendations either for remediation of the school grounds or for a way to raise awareness about the true risk students face of contracting the disease.

West Nile virus is one of a number of emerging diseases, and as such, it is a good example of how science goes about answering new questions. One of the interesting dynamics to discuss in this problem is the history of mosquito-borne illnesses in the U.S. and how fear of these new diseases creates anxiety.