Get Heart Smart with the Mississippi Children’s Museum

Mississippi Children’s Museum | Jackson, Mississippi

The Get Heart Smart exhibit introduces children to the physical properties of the heart with a larger-than-life floor model of the heart.

The Get Heart Smart with the Mississippi Children’s Museum outreach program was developed to educate children regarding three facets of heart health through an innovative, interactive program model that can travel throughout the state. In the Get Heart Smart program, students learn about the anatomy of the circulatory system and its primary functions using a larger-than-life heart and lungs floor map. They will also discuss making healthy choices regarding food, sleep, and exercise as well as the impact good citizenship can make on one’s health.

Getting #HeartSmart starts with teaching the next generation about the importance of heart health!

At the Mississippi Children’s Museum, visitors can now test their heart rate on the interactive Ride the Trails installation sponsored by Jackson Heart Foundation! Users can choose between three local trails: The Museum Trail, Belhaven Mountain Bike Trail, and The Eastover Trail to virtually ride as the speed, ride time, and heart rate all appear on the screen.

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Since launching this program in 2013, more than 1,100 students visiting the museum and 3,500 children from across the state have experienced this hands-on, educational, and fun program.

Here are a few other locations Get Heart Smart has visited across the state:

  • Raymond Road Boys and Girls Club

  • Medgar Evers Library

  • Boys and Girls Club of Jackson

  • Operation Shoestring

  • Stewpot Community Services

  • Picayune School District

  • Spann Elementary

  • Union County School District

PRIMARY PROGRAM GOALS

  1. Provide underserved children with access to a health-science based program specifically related to heart health without incurring transportation cost or additional cost to students and families

  2. Distribute printed curriculum, program model and resources to schools statewide

  3. Establish fitness and health literacy programming specifically geared to lower socio-economic levels

  4. Positively impact overall health and well-being of students within Central Mississippi and serve as a catalyst for long-term improvement

  5. Fill programmatic gap for students created by the need for additional educational resources