Gulf Elementary Students “Safari” Through the Body

By Patrick Comer

~“I learned to eat better”~

Kia Snyder laughs at body organ's robe

Are you smarter than a 3^rd grader? Maybe not Mrs. McKinnon’s 3^rd grade class at Gulf Elementary School. At least not after today’s lesson plan. Can you name the 7 major biological systems in our bodies? Even if they had trouble saying the words, circulatory and respiratory, most of the children can name most of the body’s systems after today’s Body Safari educational program by the Children’s Hospital. (By the way they’re Nervous System, Circulatory System, Respiratory System, Skin, Digestive System, Muscular System and Skeletal System.)

Chase Dziurzynski squeezes a mock heart while Damian Pegler looks on

Courtney Ranieri, a Child Advocate Instructor from Children’s Hospital was in class teaching them about the body. “Most of these kids don’t know much yet about how the body works,” said Ranieri. “I try to help them know that what they eat affects their whole body.”

During the program kids got to see and touch foam or plastic replicas of the heart, lungs, brain and intestines which drew lots of “uhhs”, “yucks” or “gross” from the kids. They learned that junk food can clog their arteries and that smoking can damage their lungs. During the presentation, the students safari through the human body and learn how groups of organs work together to make up one body system; how to identify the organs of the body; and how to protect the organs from danger. “I learned how to eat better,” said 8-year-old Nallely Preciado.

Courtney Ranieri demonstrates how much intestines we have inside our bodies

Ranieri teaches several children’s health programs. For K-1^st grade she teaches them about Germain the Germ. Students in 2^nd-3^rd grade take a trip through the body in Body Safari. And students in 4^th-5^th grades enjoy the program Mission Nutrition.

Kia Snyder and Matthew Franciso also got to model cloaks with the make believe organs on them. As students correctly identified organs, they came up the Kia and Matthew and removed the organ.

Matthew Francisco shows off body organs' robe

Ranieri asked kids after showing them a mock brain and letting them touch it “how can we protect our brains?” “Wear a helmet when riding a bike,” said one student. “Don’t be a daredevil,” said another. “Don’t take drugs,” said a third. Other questions were “how many servings of junk food should we eat in one day?” Answer: 1. “What can we put on our skin to protect it?” Answer: Sunscreen. “How many servings of fruits and vegetables are we supposed to eat in one day?” Answer: 5.

To reinforce the information, kids were given a pamphlet to give their parents with tips to help their children protect the systems in their bodies.

The Body Safari is an educational outreach program taught bye the Children’s Hospital Advocacy Program and supported in part by the Suncoast for Kids Foundation.

Courtney Ranieri lets children squeeze a plastic brain