Slide through a giant mouth. Step inside a brain. Sound like
an episode of The Magic School Bus?
Just about! Welcome to the new exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan
(CMOM)—EatSleepPlay™: Building Health
Every Day.
For the past few years, CMOM has been shaping a
comprehensive EatSleepPlay™ Health
Initiative. “We started noticing kids being heavy more than a decade ago,”
CMOM’s Executive Director Andrew Ackerman says. “We have to get at this issue
when kids are really young.”
For Ackerman, EatSleepPlay™
shines because it’s a project about
the overall well-being of a child, not just another health exhibit. And because
a museum is a neutral setting for families sans medical evaluation, Ackerman
hopes parents will dialogue with their kids to make small lifestyle changes
that can have a big impact, such as substituting a whole orange for sugary OJ.
The highly hands-on exhibit is divided into four areas: the
Brain (or Decision Center), and—you guessed it—Eat, Sleep and Play. With more
than 70 interactive games and activity stations, like pedaling a bike to work
off 14 calories from four noodles, families can learn together (see sidebar for
more examples).
But it’s more than just an educational funzone. Since before the exhibit opened, CMOM
has been cultivating community outreach programs through efforts with The
National Institute of Health (NIH) by adapting its tween and young teen We Can! curriculum for two- to
five-year-olds.
The interactive curriculum, which is aligned with Pre-K and
health standards, combines the arts, science, math, literacy and physical
health. “We have a lesson where kids get a portion plate and use model magic to
make their favorite fruits and vegetables,” says Leslie Bushara, CMOM’s Deputy
Director of Education and Guest Services. “Then we do movement activities about
portion and size, read a book and make a healthy parfait.” The program is
presented to nearly 150 children and parents per week at three different East
Side House Settlement sites in the South Bronx, and Bushara claims they have
witnessed changes in kids’ eating habits during the 11-week course.
CMOM is also collaborating with the Louisiana Children’s
Museum in New Orleans to make the curriculum a national model for early
childhood health. Other outreach efforts include training in Head Starts across
the city to develop a holistic approach to teaching nutrition and fitness, and
working with CUNY Childcare Providers to educate women through a course on
literacy and health.
“Issues around food
are emotional and cultural,” Bushara says. “What we do, in a sensitive way, is
[introduce] fun, engaging activities that aren’t intimidating.”
The same can be said of EatSleepPlay™—but
you’ll just have to visit and see for yourself.
EXPLORE THIS
The best way to experience the exhibit is to walk through
it. But here are some of the highlights!
DECISION CENTER
- A Graffiti Wall emphasizes how bad
choices influence the community. - The Royal Flush station is a talking
British toilet that explains bodily functions. - Learn portion control from a talking stomach.
- Mimic a drumbeat noise to illustrate how the heart has
difficulty beating if harmful foods clog the arteries.
EAT
- Represented
by an NYC Green Cart, the Eat area features Super Sprowtz vegetable characters that have superpowers.
Through videos and sorting games in this early childhood section, learn
about Colby Carrot, who has super sight, and Erica Eggplant, who is super
smart. - Panels show how ads can greatly influence poor
food choices and in return, offer healthier alternatives.
SLEEP
- A sleep-deprivation foosball game
pits a drowsy team rigged to lose against a well-rested team. - Giant
green monsters called Sleep
Stealers show how choices made during the day affect sleep at
night—click buttons to put a TV in the bedroom or eat a heavy dinner, and
the inflatable Sleep Stealers awaken. - Memorize and repeat a bedtime routine to
emphasize that sleep improves memory.
PLAY
- Get
your heart rate going by playing a Tabletop
Cardio game similar to Whac-A-Mole. - Move
in crazy ways to break through laser beams and create music in the laser dance room.
