Children’s Museum Takes Different Approach on Childhood Obesity
By Mary Murphy
Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast
The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast is tackling the issue of childhood obesity and has gone the extra mile to fight it. The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast, located in Jensen Beach, FL, opened in 2008, and the staff felt the needed to go beyond a pen-and-paper approach to teaching kids about good nutrition, staying active, and making healthy choices.
The prime area focusing on wellness and nutrition is the 1000-square-foot interactive garden. “Spiffy” the Grasshopper, the garden mascot, comes from Spiffy’s Once Upon A Farm children’s book series created by Nancy Erlick. He teaches kids how to live a healthy balanced lifestyle and choose healthy foods. Kids can have fun while getting fit and physical at the play structure based on the book, by climbing the 10-foot carrot and sliding down the 15-foot squash slide.
At the pizza garden, kids can grow vegetables such as eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and radishes. The children have even made their own salsa and pizza from the garden. The Adventures In Nutrition program, which thousands of students have participated in since 2009, includes exploration of the pizza garden and lessons focusing on nutrition, food groups, serving size, and the importance of making healthy choices. The Junior League of Martin County has also partnered with the museum through its national Kids in the Kitchen project to teach children how to make healthy snacks.
“We take the issue of childhood obesity very seriously,” stated Tammy Calabria, the museum’s executive director. “The Children’s Museum is very proud to have found a unique approach to fighting this epidemic, and we anticipate coming up with more wonderful ideas to keep kids fit in a way that’s fun for them.”
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