| This week, the A&T Cooperative Extension program unveiled a major new weapon for teachers in the fight against childhood obesity. The “Speedway to Healthy” interactive teaching exhibit is a custom-made, walk-through exhibit of the human body’s interior. It covers 1,200-square-feet.
The exhibit was created by Dr. Claudette Smith, family resource management specialist, and Dr. Carinthia Cherry, Extension’s nutrition specialist.
One hundred students from the Hampton Elementary University Partnership Magnet inaugurated the exhibit on Thursday. Health and childhood educators from across the state were present for the Hampton cohorts’ maiden voyage.
The learning experience, designed for children in kindergarten-through-fifth grade, features 11 stops that introduce age-appropriate information relating to the mouth, the small intestine and points in between.
The “Speedway to Healthy” project was created as a resource to fight childhood obesity and poor health among children in North Carolina. Unhealthy food choices, low physical activity and other factors have resulted in some alarming health facts:
- One in every three children in the state between ages 10-17 is obese or overweight.
- North Carolina has the 23rd highest rate of childhood obesity.
- Childhood obesity is a contributing factor to our children possibly becoming the first generation to live shorter and less healthy lives than their parents.
"Speedway to Healthy" will counter those trends as Cooperative Extension moves the exhibit around the state in partnership with schools and other child-centered organizations. Getting a look inside their own bodies through the exhibit will help elementary students learn more about their bodies’ relationships with food, exercise and lifestyle modifications.
For more information, click here or contact Shannon Wiley, Speedway to Healthy coordinator at 336-334-7956 or srwiley@ncat.edu.
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