MEGA Lungs display teaches students about general lung health
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STOCKTON FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS Jade and Kaylee Jackson pose inside the MEGA Lungs, which were on display in Stockton on Wednesday, January 12th. The students enjoyed learning about how the lungs function and general lung health. -
RCH DIRECTORY OF NURSING, PAM HARMON, gives a tour of the MEGA Lungs display to the Stockton Grade School boys and girls. The students learned about general lung health and the dangers of smoking and vaping.
Students and teachers from Stockton USD #271, Plainville USD and Sacred Heart School toured the MEGA Lungs display on Wednesday January 12th in Stockton and on Thursday, January 13th in Plainville. Rooks County Health Director of Nursing Pam Harmon, and Plainville PE teacher Reisa Rudman gave the presentations to the students. The Lungs were then on display for the public during the basketball game held in Plainville that Thursday evening.
The MEGA Lungs display gives visitors a highly interactive, educational experience about the respiratory system's most critical organs. Visitors can step inside the human lung model and learn about the various structures and normal lung functions, observe examples of lung trauma and disease, and view displays explaining some of the latest respiratory medical treatments.
The inflatable lungs are approximately ten feet long, fifteen feet wide and twelve feet high, and they have been featured on the television programs “Dr. Oz” and “The Doctors.”
“It seemed like the kids really enjoyed the MEGA Lungs and were interested in what the presenters had to say,” stated RCH Communications and Development Assistant Kandie Morain. “We had quite a few parents and grandparents come up to see the MEGA Lungs on Thursday evening because the kids were so excited about it and asked them to go see it.”
RCH received grant funding for this educational and visual project. The goal is to raise awareness of preventable respiratory illness in Rooks County through a multiagency outreach initiative involving the schools, libraries and healthcare entities.
Prior to seeing the lungs exhibit, teachers used training materials to teach the children about general lung health and the dangers of smoking and vaping, with hopes of discouraging students from ever starting.
The health initiative was provided by the generosity of the following partners: The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 3, Rooks County Health Center, Rooks County Health Department, Plainville Wellness Coalition, Plainville USD #270, Stockton USD #271, Plainville Memorial Library, and the Stockton Public Library.
(This project is supported by the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UG4LM012345. This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.)
