Students at Walter White Elementary School were treated to a tour of the human body this week, and learned about healthy eating habits, dental care, organ function and life choices while on their journey.
Students toured the Body Walk, a ten-station, 35 foot by 40 foot exhibit representing the human body. The unique learning experience is provided by HealthMPowers, an Atlanta based nonprofit organization that provides health programming to schools throughout Georgia.
Tours begin with students walking through a giant ear and into the brain where they experience “brain waves” as they learn how to take care of their brain by wearing a helmet, eating breakfast and exercising.
Students move into the exhibit’s larger-than-life mouth and learn to care for their larger-than-life mouth and learn to care for their teeth by eating less sugar, brushing and flossing regularly. From there, they are “swallowed” through the esophagus tunnel, move into the stomach and travel through the small intestine where they are “absorbed” into the blood. Children follow the path of the nutrients to the heart, lungs, bones, muscles and skin stations. At each station students are taught specific health behaviors to help keep their body and organs healthy.
Students exit the body exhibit through a cut in the skin and proceed into the pathway to life. At each of the Body Walk’s stations, a teacher or parent volunteer was there to present a four-minute activity focused on healthy choices. Upbeat music cues announced to the students that it was time to dance their way to the next station.
The traveling Body Walk exhibit is operated by HealthMPowers in Atlanta, GA.
