Take a wild ride through the body with Speedway to Health, an exhibit designed to teach children in grades K-5 what happens to the food we eat. This is a free, traveling exhibit that can be booked anywhere in North Carolina. The exhibit is 1,200 square feet and contains 11 pit stops that represent different body parts. A volunteer gives a 5-minute interactive presentation at each stop as the kids learn how food is processed in our bodies.

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The Exhibit

Kids line up on the starting line, where they are introduced to MyPlate and given a sticker of a piece of food. They become that food as they enter the body, starting at the brain. Here they learn how the brain functions, and how to keep it healthy. Next, they enter the mouth, where they learn the proper way to brush and floss, and the effect of sugar on their teeth. They then travel through the stomach and into the small intestine, where they (as food) are squeezed into smaller pieces until their nutrients are released.

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The kids are now nutrients that travel through the blood stream to be delivered first to the heart, then the lungs. In the lungs they learn what happens when you smoke. After the lungs they travel to the kidneys, where they learn how kidneys flush toxins from our blood. They travel to the bones, muscles, and skin, where they learn the importance of hand washing. They finally exit through a cut in the skin.