Have you ever wondered how many teaspoons of sugar are in a can of soda or what a pound of fat looks
and feels like?
Students at Centralhatchee Elementary School in Franklin learned the answers to those questions and more through a new interactive exhibit created by Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well. The Kids Exhibit is an engaging experience for kids ages 6 to 12 that teaches them about healthy
lifestyles in a fun and exciting way.
Get Healthy, Live Well volunteers and staff visited Centralhatchee Elementary School on Jan. 7 to share the exhibit with 139 students. The school’s gym was filled with activity as the students explored each of the exhibit’s nine stations and asked questions.
Several stations focus on nutrition. For example, students learn how to create a balanced plate of food and what it takes to actually burn a certain amount of calories. There is also a station called “Rethink Your Drink” that illustrates how much sugar is in popular beverages, such as juices and sodas.
Other stations focus on fitness fun. Students can try out balance boards, test their flexibility or challenge themselves to do sit-ups and push-ups. They also get to jump rope and then observe their bodies’ reactions, from feeling winded to sweating.
Among the exhibit’s highlights is the anti-tobacco station, which features real pig lungs — one that is healthy and another that was simulated to show what smoking does to a lung.
“When kids interact with the exhibit, they are learning ways to improve their health and having fun while they do it,” said Patricia Mitchell, wellness and prevention coordinator at Tanner Health System. “This exhibit helps lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.”
Centralhatchee Elementary Principal Dr. Dawn H. Bennett decided to bring the exhibit to her school after learning about it from Ephesus Elementary Principal Stephanie McRae. The exhibit made its first stop at Ephesus Elementary School in Roopville late last year.
“[McRae] said the students really enjoyed it and learned a lot,” Bennett said.
Judging by the feedback Bennett has received so far, the same can be said for students at
Centralhatchee Elementary.
“I had excellent responses from the teachers, the students and parents,” Bennett said. “The students were very engaged in all of the stations and they continued to talk about the stations for the rest of the afternoon.”
Jennifer Anderson, a second-grade teacher, thinks it’s great that students had the opportunity to explore the exhibit. Providing the exhibit to students also helped reinforce what she teaches about health in the classroom.
“It keeps the students informed as far as what they need to eat to be healthy and the dangers of tobacco — that it’s not only with cigarettes,” Anderson said. “I don’t think that a lot of them realize that you can get cancer in other ways.”
To learn more about what Get Healthy, Live Well is doing to help make healthier environments for kids, call 770.812.9871 or visit www.GetHealthyLiveWell.org.
Press Release
