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June 12, 1998 JOURNALISTS: Here's a Father's Day story idea and a list of Purdue events during the next two weeks. Young, first-time dads get help with parenting skills The role of parent is a stressful one for many young dads celebrating their first Father's Day this June 21. To teach parenting knowledge and skills to such youthful fathers, the Purdue University Center for Families and Purdue Cooperative Extension Service developed a model program that debuted in 1994. "It's My Child Too" is a short-term parent education program for young fathers ages 14-25 that is designed to increase awareness of the roles, responsibilities and skills of being a father. The curriculum includes discussion of managing children's problem behavior; crying; diapering and bathing; and nutrition and feeding. Young dads who don't live with the child's mother also take lessons on visitations, parenting effectively, communication and cooperating with the mother of the child, and responsible decision making. The program is offered in more than 40 of Indiana's 92 counties. CONTACT: Aadron Rausch, Extension specialist and assistant director for outreach, Center for Families, at (765) 494-9516. Events Friday-Saturday, June 19-20. Great Lakes Region Aviation and Space Education Conference: "Yearning and Learning to Touch the Sky." Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. This conference is for K-12 educators, professors, administrators, youth group leaders and others interested in using aviation and space education as a motivational tool. Highlights will include speakers from Purdue, the United States Air Force, the Civil Air Patrol and NASA, including astronauts Mark Brown (7:30 a.m. Saturday, June 20) and Janice Voss (7 p.m. Saturday, June 20) ; and tours of Purdue aerospace research facilities and the Indianapolis International Airport. Sponsored by the Indiana Space Grant Consortium and Great Lakes Region Civil Air Patrol. CONTACT: Diane Schafer, Indiana Space Grant Consortium, (765) 494-5873; e-mail, dianes@ecn.purdue.edu Monday-Tuesday, June 29-30. The Eastern Midwest Climate Change Workshop. University Place Conference Center, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Conference is for Midwestern agricultural producers and business leaders who want to learn more about climate change and who want to help direct their government's response. Organized by staff from Purdue and Indiana universities and the University of Illinois and sponsored by the USDA, the workshop is one of 18 being held throughout the country. CONTACTS: Otto Doering, resource economist and policy expert in Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics, (765) 494-4226; J.C. Randolph, director of the Indiana University Midwestern Regional Center for Global Environmental Change, (812) 855-4953 Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page