Imagine being shrunk down to the size of a bite of food and then traveling through a human body. Many Great Bend fifth graders had that opportunity Tuesday as they visited Body Venture (bodyventure.org), a learning experience offered by the Kansas State Department of Education’s Child Nutrition & Wellness division.
Several colorful tents were set up in the Great Bend High School gym. Students started the journey by pretending they were a piece of food on a My Plate menu. The United States Department of Agriculture’s My Plate dietary guidelines promote healthy eating.
Walking over the tongue and into the mouth, students visited the brain, stomach, small intestine, heart, lungs, bones, muscles and skin for the inside scoop on nutrition, exercise and other health-related topics. The walk-through exhibit measures 45 by 50 feet.
“The kids learn a lot about their bodies; it’s experiential,” said school nurse Linda Johnson, who coordinated the program.
Sharon Mauler, a volunteer from the Great Bend Pilot Club, greeted children as they left the small intestine and entered her station.
“You’re in the lungs now,” she said. The walls were decorated with blood vessels and facts about healthy lungs. During her presentation, she showed them a blackened specimen that represented a smoker’s lung.
Pilot Club takes part in Body Venture every year, Mauler said. “It’s one of our main programs.”
The presenters at each station had a script and some visual aids. In the heart station, Pilot Mary Cramer showed children how much fat is in a cooked hamburger. There was just enough time to finish the presentation before a cowbell sounded and the children moved to the next station, another group taking their place.
In the bone station, Billie Bonomo, also in Pilot Club, talked about foods that help keep bones healthy.
“Your body has 206 bones,” she said. About half of those are in the hands, wrist and feet.
Inside the skin station, Pilot Club member Marcia Johnson showed children how easily germs can spread. She sprayed one boy’s hands with a clear substance and had the others shake his hand. The fake “germs” were invisible to the naked eye but could be seen throughout the room when an ultraviolet light was activated. Johnson wore a straw hat, and advised children to protect their skin from direct sunlight. They were advised to wash their hands and to wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more.
When students exited the body they were placed on the “pathway to life.” At this final stop, they reviewed what they’d learned and the USDA Power Panther talked about the Food and Nutrition Service’s campaign, “Eat Smart. Play Hard.”
A member of the GBHS KAY club wore the Power Panther costume – a USDA mascot not to be confused with the GBHS Panther mascot – and other KAYS helped with the wrap-up.
“The kids really liked it,” Johnson said, adding the high school students are great role models.
Other lessons learned included stretch your muscles before exercising, drink plenty of water and wear a helmet when riding a bike. KSDE provided books to give to the children and one bike helmet per class, to be given away in a drawing. The nurses will follow up with classroom activities.
Great Bend USD 428’s school nurses Johnson, Libbie Merritt, Dana Wilson and Paulette Soupiset coordinated the program along with a Meg Boggs, representative from Body Venture. Johnson said the five district elementary schools, as well as Holy Family School and Central Kansas Christian Academy, sent their fifth graders, as they have every year for 15 years or more. The nurses got a grant to bring the program here initially, and now the school district funds it as part of the health curriculum.
USD 428’s maintenance and custodial workers and the bus barn also helped to put this program together.
