Story and Photos by Suzanne Le Breton

Smart Bodies is an interactive program that teaches school children about the importance of taking care of their bodies by taking them through a 35-foot by 45-foot walk-through of the human body.

The first stop – the brain, where kids learned how what they eat affects the way their brain sends signals to the rest of their body.

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And then into the mouth, where they learned how the sugar in the foods they eat affects their bodies. Here the children used teeth as chairs and an extra large toothbrush to demonstrate the right way to brush teeth.

Then they walked through the esophagus to the stomach. After leaving the stomach, they zigzagged through the small intestines where small villi hung above their heads. The children learned how the villi help the intestines to work.

The students also learned about bones and the skin and how to take care of both. They put mock germs on their hands and looked under an ultraviolet light to see how germs can spread from their touch. They learned about their lungs and how they help them to breath but also about how they have to take care of their lungs.

The traveled through the heart and learn about the different valves and how they work to pump blood through their bodies.

At each station the students stopped and learned briefly about how the foods they eat and the decisions they make affects how those organs work and as a result affects their overall health.

The program is a joint initiative of the LSU AgCenter and Blue Cross Blue Shields of Louisiana Foundation.

It is targeted for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. When brought to a school and assembled, approximately 400 students can take part in the body walk and complete the program in one day.

The body walk is accompanied by take-home materials about the different organs for families to learn together and a classroom program for teachers to integrate the program into their classrooms.