VB and ADO .NET question

Question

I am attempting to create a program that interfaces with a database. Sounds simple enough. I have a splash-screen form that displays on startup, and I have set up the connection to the database to be established when that form loads. However, I have had problems with the scope of this connection not reaching other forms. Can I declare all of the database objects in a module? Would the code be any different? I haven't had any success with this so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Mark