Education
Shaping Up
What happens?
The goal of this exhibit is to discover more about how astronauts prepare for journeying into space. It deals with importance of a varied diet and nutritional requirements - how much and what do we need to eat? The role of exercise in maintaining a healthy body is also illustrated through the activities.
How does it work?
Visitors can play through a sequence of games on the workstation that will reveal more about what makes a balanced diet and the value of exercise. The reward is that the onscreen character will be fit to go into space.
Why is it important?
It's important to understand the effect that food has on your body and to learn how to eat the right balance of healthy and not-so-healthy foods. It's also important that you're able to enjoy what you're eating, knowing that you're giving your body everything it needs.
No single kind of food contains all the nutrients and fibre you need, so it's important to eat a range of foods. Eating the right balance from the main food groups will ensure that your body gets all it needs to stay healthy. Your food choices can have a long-term impact on your health. There is good evidence that eating a healthy diet can reduce your risk of illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and cancer (particularly bowel cancer).
How does it relate to the primary curriculum?
- PDMU: how to sustain their health, growth and well being and coping safely and efficiently with their environment.
How does it relate to the post-primary curriculum?
- Physical Education: experience, monitor and understand a range of short-term effects of exercise on the body systems including cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal systems; monitor and evaluate their own activity levels over a period of time and plan how they can fulfil the activity recommendations for health; through the exploration of healthy eating, pupils develop the knowledge, understanding and practical skills required for healthy living; they learn how to plan, prepare, serve, handle and store food safely.
Where can you find out more?
Live well pages at NHS -
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/Pages/Livewellhub.aspx