Healthworks! Kids’ Museum St. Louis Receives $5,500 Grant

HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum St. Louis is pleased to announce it has been awarded $5,500 in grant funding from the Jefferson Foundation to support the museum’s Beyond Our Walls: Social Distanced educational outreach program. The initiative works to break down economic barriers by providing HealthWorks! interactive health programs and preventive health tools to students. The program is designed to give lower-income children the opportunity to learn the importance of positive oral and overall health choices through an interactive learning experience. The grant will be used to bring its social distanced programs to K-5th grade students throughout Jefferson County.

Beyond Our Walls serves nearly 8,000 children in the St. Louis area each year through free admissions and live travel shows. In 2020, it expanded to include live virtual programs and virtual museum components that connect students in the classroom with health video content and resources to teach children about the importance of their choices and how they impact their personal health. Research has shown that low-income families face several health risks, including increased rates of obesity and diabetes due to poor nutrition and food choices. These families may also lack the education and resources needed to prevent such risks. The programs aim to reverse these trends by using fun and interactive performances to keep students engaged and educate and empower them.

Thanks to the grant funding, HealthWorks! will be able to provide two programs – Escape The Germs and Doc In The House – to schools within the Jefferson County school districts of Grandview R-II, Hillsboro R-III, Dunklin R-V, Festus R-VI, Jefferson Co. R-VII, Sunrise R-IX, Windsor C-1, Crystal City 47 and Desoto 73.
“Escape the Germs” teaches kids the fascinating science behind germs. Children will work to complete challenges, gather information and answer questions to escape from the germs. Upon completion, they will be able to identify the manner in which scientists study germs, name types of germs and their effects on people, and describe ways to stay safe from germs.
The second program, “Doc In The House,” features mock patients who are in need of medical care for different reasons. Children will work to uncover a different sign or symptom their patient is experiencing, and by the program’s end, they must determine a diagnosis and how to treat their patient.

“Approximately 45 percent of students living in Jefferson County live in poverty. Children living in communities with higher poverty rates unfortunately experience less exposure to education and resources to learn how to make healthy choices, including eating well, exercise, and good oral and overall hygiene,” said Dr. Kourtenay Green, Co-Executive Director/Director of Programs of HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum St. Louis. “Beyond Our Walls is so important because it allows us to highlight the importance of health to the children that need us the most. We are thankful to the Jefferson Foundation for providing grant funding that will provide health education to numerous low income children and give them the necessary tools and information to improve their overall health and lower their risk factors for preventable health conditions and diseases.”

HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum St. Louis is located at 1100 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110. To learn more, email info@hwstl.org, visit www.hwstl.org, like the museum on Facebook or follow them on Instagram @healthworkskidsstl.