Creative Discovery Museum announced the return of the Good for You: Healthy Fun on the Run exhibit as it makes its fourth and final appearance at the Museum. The exhibit was originally developed by the Museum and will be open to visitors from Sept. 26-Nov. 10.
With childhood obesity ranking as one of the most important issues facing the United States, especially in Tennessee, the exhibit is part of the Museum’s health initiative to teach children and their families that living healthy, active lifestyles can be easy and fun, said officials.
“With one in five children in the United States now considered overweight, unless their behavior and poor lifestyle choices are identified and corrected, many of them will go on to develop serious medical problems,” said Henry Schulson, executive director of Creative Discovery Museum. “By partnering and collaborating with families, schools, health care professionals and organizations, we have the ability to promote healthy lifestyle choices for all children. The Good for You exhibit is a huge step toward fulfilling that vision.”
The bilingual exhibit was developed and produced by Creative Discovery Museum with funding from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation also provided funding for the exhibit to travel to other museums in Tennessee over the past three years including stops at children’s and science museums of Memphis, Nashville, Johnson City and Murfreesboro.
The exhibit is based off the children’s book, “Good for You: Adventures with Ginger and George,” written by Lynne Mulligan, former senior programs manager at Creative Discovery Museum. In the book, Ginger is a potato chip-eating, soda-guzzling couch potato who loves to watch T.V. When her mother orders her out of the house, she and her faithful dog, George, begin an adventure that leads to a world of healthy foods and active play.
In the exhibit, visitors learn about healthy lifestyles and healthy foods. They can listen to their heart beat and participate in hands-on activities that teach the importance of balancing good food choices (energy in) with physical activities (energy out).
Visitors also learn about healthy food choices as they pick authentic-looking fruits and vegetables in Sam’s Garden and sell them at Maria’s Farmer’s Market.
To promote physical movement, children are invited into Nelson’s Tree House for climbing and then visit Michael and Lea’s campsite where they explore a cave, traverse a rock wall and try out a kayak.
“Giving children the opportunity to make choices and showing them that they can easily balance their food choices and enjoy physical activity, provides them with the necessary tools to live a healthy lifestyle,” said Dr. Jayne Griffin, eirector of Education for the Museum. “We want to teach kids and their families that being healthy is the result of making good food choices and exercising your body. Most importantly, making good choices can be done by everyone and it can be fun, too.”
Inside the Exhibit
The Good for You: Healthy Fun on the Run exhibit includes the following areas:
Entrance Area
Visitors are greeted by life-sized cutouts of Ginger, her faithful dog, George, and all the members of the Good for You Crew: Sam, Maria, Michael, Lea, Josh and Nelson. The entrance graphic provides a perfect photo opportunity for children to join the crew.
Introductory Area
In this area, visitors can listen to their heart as a red light flashes and a drum plays in exact sync with the user’s heartbeat. An interactive game illustrates the importance of balancing food choices (energy in) with physical activities (energy out).
Sam’s Garden and Kitchen
These areas allow visitors to experience food “from the garden to the table” as they plant food and gather it to cook. The garden includes furrows for planting and picking authentic-looking vegetables as well as vines and trees holding fruit. After planting and gathering food, children will delight in taking the food to a play kitchen where they can be chefs using recipes and equipment just their size. Children will learn all about nutrition and discover how healthy it is to eat foods of many different colors in the “eat a rainbow” activity.
Maria’s Farmers’ Market
At the Farmers’ Market with its bins of fruits, vegetables and other products, visitors can investigate healthy food choices and discover what parts of a plant they eat: fruit, root or leaf. Costumes and cash registers are provided so children can take on the role of shoppers or sellers.
Nelson’s Tree House
The tree house provides opportunities for climbing and encourages healthy, outdoor play. Visitors will enjoy raising the flag, using pulleys to move supplies up the tree house and letting their imaginations run wild in their treetop clubhouse.
Michael and Lea’s Campsite
Visitors will have an opportunity to explore more ways to enjoy physical movement and also connect with nature at the campsite. Kids can traverse a climbing wall, try out a whitewater kayak, go camping, “sleep” in a tent and explore a cave.
Healthy House: Josh’s Living Room
This area provides guests with a variety of active movement based activities for fun indoor play. Guests can build forts, play dress up and engage in board games.