Body Walk in Holmes County, Goodman Pickens Elementary School February 21, 2011

Body Walk traveled to Goodman Pickens Elementary School February 16th-18th. We saw 4 schools, Goodman Pickens, Central Holmes Elementary, Lexington Elementary, and S. V. Marshall Elementary.  Overall, we saw over 600 K-3rd graders.

Many Extension agents worked hard to set up, and run the Body Walk in Holmes. Tracy Mallet, 4-H booked BW for her county. Jackie Gary-FNP, Cordelia Patterson-EFNEP Youth, Algenia Adams-EFNEP Adult, and Betsy Pagent-County Director all worked very hard. Allied Health students worked as station volunteers and they helped take down the exhibit.

 

Allied Health Students in Holmes county

 

The elementary students loved going from the brain, through the body, ending at the Pathway of Life where they reviewed everything they learned inside the Body Walk. Each child left with a sticker and an activity book.

 

Pathway of Life

Next stop, Lee county.

 

Body Walk in Oktibbeha County, Sturgis

Recently Body Walk set up in Sturgis Mississippi at West Oktibbeha Elementary. Julie White booked Body Walk for her county and all the Oktibbeha County Extension staff helped set up and/or helped inside the exhibit as a station presenter the next day.

We saw K-5th and they loved going through. The children had enjoyed a fairy ball the day before and many thought it was just as good as the ball. A few of the boys thought the Body Walk was even better.

Beginning in the brain station, the children learned to protect their noggin, and to eat breakfast every day. A healthy breakfast is a great way to start the day. Next, they went to the mouth where they learned why and how to floss and brush their teeth. Did you know that poor oral health can affect the rest of the body’s health?

Next, they were ‘swallowed’ down the esophagus, just as food as swallowed in real life, and they landed in the stomach. Here they learned more about good food and they ‘churned’ their way into the small intestine. Here they learned about their guts and how important nutrients and water are. Next they were ‘absorbed’ into the blood stream. They visited the heart, the lungs, the bones, and the muscles. Lastly, they visited the skin. Here they learned about the body’s largest organ and how the skin is the first line of defense against infection. So, it is important to protect skin from too much sun, to cover cuts and scrapes with a bandage and to always, always wash one’s hands.

They left the body through a ‘cut’ in the skin to a review of all the good information they had just heard. Then they left with a sticker and an activity book. Many wanted to go through again. 🙂

Another successful Body Walk.

Next stop, Holmes county.

Body Walk in Itawamba County February 11, 2011

Body Walk recently set up at the Itawamba Attendance Center. We saw the third grade from five schools, IAC, Dorsey Attendance Center, Fairview Attendance Center, Mantachie Attendance Center, and Tremont Elementary.

Set up went very well. The football players from Itawamba Community College came and helped put the exhibit together. Despite some challenges-a breaker tripped, causing the lights to go out and requiring we do some assembly in the dark-they listened closely and did a great job.

 

The ICC Football team

 

The next day our volunteers were from the ICC Nursing program. They not only worked in the rooms as presenters, they also entertained the kids waiting to start the tour with physical activity. Their stamina, dancing the cha-cha for three hours straight, was impressive.

 

ICC Nursing Students, aka great volunteers

 

One student went all out, making her own props to supplement what is already supplied by Body Walk. She was in the muscle station. In addition to her great drawings of the Organwise Guys, she drew faces with different expressions to show how muscles allow people to express their emotions on their face.

 

Awesome prop

 

Of course the Body Walk would not be possible without the hard work of the Extension agents who book the program and work hard to make it a success. Romona Edge-County Director, Amy Riley-FNP Educator, and Marie Rogers-4-H agent, all did a fantastic job.  They were very organized. They made sure all the children completed their quiz when they finished the tour. One goal of Body Walk is to teach children they can make healthy choices and they can have a healthy childhood.

Next stop, Oktibbeha county.

Body Walk in Lowndes county, Fairview Elementary February 1, 2011

A nice welcome for Body Walk.

January 24th and 25th, Body Walk traveled to Fairview Elementary in Lowndes county. This is a magnet school with an emphasis on Aerospace and Science. The mission of the school is “…to provide a quality education to every child in a loving and nurturing environment. Our students are exposed to activities that encourage science discovery, problem-solving, and innovative experiences based on the state and national curriculum standards.”

Fairview Elementary

Sharon Patrick booked Body Walk for her county. Principal Billie Smith was excited to have Body Walk at her school and was very hands on for the project. Extension agents were the volunteers inside each of the rooms. Most of them had volunteered for Body Walk before so they were very good presenters.

Future astronauts need a healthy body and Body Walk is just the exhibit to demonstrate to the Kindergarten through Fifth graders why and how they can keep their body healthy. The children loved coming into the brain station and learning that it all starts with a healthy brain. From there, they were very excited to go into the mouth and sit on a tooth stool. After that, they traveled through the rest of the rooms, finally coming out at the pathway of life where they reviewed everything they just saw.

Space mural on wall in front lobby of the school.

Each teacher was given a Body Walk activity book to use in her or his classroom after the tour. Teachers and students alike enjoyed their trip through the body.

Next stop, Itawamba county.

Body Walk in Carroll County, Marshall Elementary

January 20th and 21st, Body Walk was in Carroll county, at Marshall Elementary. Here we saw Kindergarten through Fifth grade from Marshall Elementary and Carroll Academy.  Tracy Robertson booked Body Walk for her county. Allied Health students worked inside the exhibit. Allied Health is a program where high school students can learn about medical careers and the medical profession. These students are ideally suited to volunteer in the Body Walk exhibit.

 

Holding the brain model.

The stomach, the first main stop of food digestion.

Calcium is one component of strong bones.

The kids loved going into each room and learning about the different organs of the body. They learned how and why they should make good food choices and why they should get enough exercise.

 

Next stop for Body Walk, Lowndes county.