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Lloyd students learn about the human machine
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Kindergartners Braeden Bell (center) and Renay Wilson (right) checked out how their hair, skin, nails, and teeth looked when they were magnified.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .COSI outreach educator Patrick Roach (right) explored the systems of the body with a play x-ray machine provided by the museum. Helping him explore the nervous system was Lloyd teacher Nicole Ruggles (left).
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Kindergartners Brogan Roby (left) and Tyler Currie were big fans of the giant puzzle showing the bones of the human body.
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COSI representative Patrick Roach (back right) showed a Lloyd teacher and three students some healthy moves for their hearts. Exercising were, teacher Linda Ferrier (left), Nick Mortaro, Ariana Snyder, and Julia Marcio.
By SARAH FOOR
The human body is very complicated and systems like our endocrine, circulatory and immune system all play a part in keeping things running. Explaining these detailed workings to the kindergarten through third-grade students at Lloyd Elementary required a unique approach.
The Columbus-based science museum COSI used the car engine as an analogy April 28 when teaching Lloyd students about the human body in a program called “The Incredible Human Machine.”
The program began with a school-wide assembly that then broke into smaller grade groups for hands-on activities.
COSI outreach educator Patrick Roach led the students through the assembly, where he showed the students a giant plastic engine. Each part represented a system of the human body and Roach explained that the processing unit of the engine would be the brain, the belts representing the muscles and fuel for the engine being the food we eat.
He taught the kids to take care of their bodies by exercising and eating the right kinds of food.
“COSI works hard to make our programs energetic and enthusiastic, but simple and relatable to everyone. We want the human body to be a less scary place after today,” Roach said.
During hands-on activities, each grade level learned about diverse subjects like X-rays, bones, brain games and optical illusions, making healthy meals and working a microscope. Some students even did a bit of exercising with the Nintendo Wii game “Just Dance.” Volunteers from Fitch’s National Honor Society helped out at the activity tables.
“This is my first time in the area and it was really great,” Roach said. “The volunteer turnout was great and the kids were very courteous and excited to participate. I hope they had a great time, because they were a blast to teach.”