After the exhibit’s successful debut last year, Creative Discovery Museum is bringing back “Good for You: Healthy Fun on the Run.”
The CDM will open the exhibit Saturday with a series of special events in “Fun and Food Unleashed.”
The exhibit is part of the museum’s health initiative to teach children and their families that living healthy, active lifestyles can be easy and fun, according to Lynda Levan, director of external affairs.
The bilingual exhibit was developed and produced by Creative Discovery Museum with a $300,000 gift from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation and funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The exhibit features Ginger and her friends in the Good for You Crew. Ginger is a potato-chip-eating, soda-guzzling couch potato who loves to watch TV. When her mother orders her out of the house, Ginger and her dog, George, begin an adventure that leads to discovering a world of healthy foods and active play.
Exhibit visitors may listen to their heart beat and visit an interactive video wall where they use their whole bodies to capture floating images of foods to create a balanced meal.
Kids can pick veggies in a garden and take them to the farmers market, where they will play the roles of buyers and sellers as they learn about healthy food choices.
To promote physical movement, children are invited into Nelson’s Treehouse for climbing and then to a campsite where they explore a cave, traverse a rock wall and try out a kayak.
Even in the exhibit’s home setting, kids can play Twister or build forts. There will be foods to sample in the Culinary Corner and the museum’s teaching kitchen.
“More than a third of our children in Tennessee are overweight. It is important to create opportunities to reach them with lessons about healthy lifestyles,” said Dr. Robert Mandel, BlueCross senior vice president for health-care services.
“Good for You: Adventures with Ginger and George” will be available. The companion book was written by Lynne Mulligan, programs manager at Creative Discovery Museum, and illustrated by David Young, an art professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
IF YOU GO
* What: “Good for You: Healthy Fun on the Run” exhibit.
* When: Saturday-May 15. Winter hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday (closed Wednesdays), noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Open daily starting in March.
* Where: Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St.
* Admission: $10.95.
* Phone: 756-2738.
* Website: www.cdmfun.org.
“Fun and Food Unleashed” Saturday Schedule
* 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Check out ways to get moving at the “Try Some New Moves Corner.” Visitors can try their skills on pogo sticks, carpet skates, bucket stilts, balance boards and sports equipment.
* 11 a.m. Hula Hoop demonstration and mini-class by Lia Harrell of Hooptonic.
* 1 p.m. Tasting stations available offering child-friendly, economical alternatives to junk food.
* 1 p.m. Aerial demonstration by Chattanooga Aerials; learn more about aerial dance from Amy Powell.