COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Center of Science and Industry and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson have announced a $5 million state grant to create Signals of Hope, a new exhibit and statewide traveling experience built around the science of addiction prevention, healthy choices and recovery, according to the announcement released Tuesday through PR Newswire.
The grant is the largest individual award within a $90 million allotment that the Attorney General’s Office says it will invest statewide to advance addiction prevention, expand access to treatment and support long-term recovery. COSI and the Attorney General’s Office marked the launch on Monday, November 9, with an event at COSI in Columbus that included a ceremonial groundbreaking and a coordinated lighting of 88 county globes, one for each Ohio county the program intends to reach.
The exhibit will be housed inside LIFE, COSI’s health and life-sciences area, and is planned as a 10-year exhibition. According to the announcement, it will help young people and families understand how the brain processes pain, how addiction can develop, and how treatment and supportive relationships can contribute to recovery, with interactive experiences covering medication safety, healthy coping and seeking help from trusted adults.
“Every young person deserves the opportunity to grow up healthy, pursue their dreams and build a future full of possibilities,” Wilson said in the announcement distributed by PR Newswire. “We know addiction can change the course of a life and impact entire families, which is why prevention and education matter so much. Through this partnership with COSI, we’re giving young Ohioans the knowledge and tools to make healthy choices, while reminding them that help is available, recovery is possible and their future is worth fighting for.”
Signals of Hope will guide visitors through five connected areas, the announcement said: Pain and the Brain, on how pain signals travel through the body and the role of opioid receptors; Make Safe Choices, with practical lessons on reading medication labels and safe storage and disposal; Build Your Protective Factors, on coping skills, trusted relationships and school connections; Recovery Works, on treatment and community support; and Careers That Strengthen Ohio, introducing jobs in prevention, treatment, recovery, pharmacy and public health.
“The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is doing important work to address addiction and support Ohio families, and we are honored to be chosen as a partner in that effort,” Dr. Frederic Bertley, COSI’s president and CEO, said in the announcement. “Through Signals of Hope, we will help families understand the science behind addiction and recovery — and how that knowledge can inform their choices and encourage them to seek support and prioritize their wellness.”
The Columbus exhibit is only half of the plan. A statewide roadshow will carry five movable modules into communities in all 88 counties through The HIVE, COSI’s Human Innovation Experience, which connects students with hands-on career exploration. The traveling format is meant to reach students and families who may never visit COSI in Columbus, the announcement said.
The prevention-first approach mirrors other Ohio health investments NewsForce247 has covered this fall, including school-based health centers expanding in Southeast Ohio schools and a new children’s crisis center in Bowling Green awaiting state certification — efforts that, like Signals of Hope, try to reach young people before a crisis rather than after one.
Ohio’s addiction toll is the backdrop for the investment. State and local health officials have spent a decade building prevention, treatment and recovery systems after the worst years of the opioid crisis, and programs aimed at school-age children have become a central part of that strategy because early education is one of the few tools that can change outcomes before substance use begins. COSI, which the announcement notes has been ranked the nation’s top science museum in six of the last seven years in USA TODAY’s 10Best voting, brings a hands-on format that state officials hope will hold young visitors’ attention longer than a classroom lecture.
The November 9 launch program featured representatives from all 88 counties alongside leaders in education, behavioral health, prevention and recovery, including a youth recovery perspective, according to the announcement. The county globes lit together at the close of the event were meant to symbolize the initiative’s reach into every corner of the state.
What happens next is construction and curriculum: COSI will build out the five exhibit areas inside LIFE while the HIVE roadshow modules are prepared for travel, and the Attorney General’s Office will distribute the remaining awards from its $90 million prevention allotment statewide. Families can follow the project at cosi.org. Related coverage: Ohio health coverage options expanding for 2027 open enrollment.
Photo: Fritzmann2002, CC BY-SA