3rd Grade Students participate in Body Walk

Learning healthy lifestyles. That was the primary focus of Body Walk, a traveling exhibit that third grade students from New Albany Elementary School and Union County Schools enjoyed on Friday, January 22. These students had a firsthand look at how to make healthy choices and remain healthy throughout their lives.

Body Walk is an innovative way to learn about the importance of good nutrition and physical fitness. Students had the opportunity to explore the human body with The OrganWise Guys as their guides.

The tour began when students, in small groups, walked through a giant ear into the brain. Inside the huge brain dome, students experienced “brain waves” and learned about brain function. After they left the brain, the students were given a bookmark designating them as a food, such as a carrot, hamburger or piece of cheese. The “foods” stepped into the exhibit’s larger-than-life mouth, were “swallowed” through the esophagus tunnel and moved into the stomach dome. From the stomach, the students traveled through the small intestine where they were “absorbed” into the blood. Then they followed the path of the nutrients to the heart, lung, bone, muscle and skin stations.

Students left the body through a cut in the skin and proceeded through The OrganWise Guy’s Pathway for Life. The final station recapped key health concepts from each of the nine previous stations. Throughout the exhibit, students learned how to apply healthy life style changes. At each of the Body Walk’s ten stations, a volunteer presenter engaged the students in a five-minute activity focused on healthy choices. Allied Health II Students and HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Club members from the School of Career & Technical Education served as volunteer presenters.

According to Nutrition & Food Safety Agent, Judith Ward, “The traveling Body Walk exhibit is operated by Mississippi State University Extension Service and Body Walk provides a unique and exciting opportunity for Mississippi elementary students to learn about their bodies and the importance of making healthy choices.” According to Ward, the exhibit was developed to address increasing national concerns about the lack of physical activity and the declining nutritional status of young children.