Sesame Street exhibition makes Texas Premier at The Health Museum

Recognizable characters lead children through human body

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? It’s easy! Simply visit The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, also known as The Health Museum, to explore the latest exhibit - Sesame Street Presents: The Body - on display in the Sue Trammell Whitfield Gallery between October 4, 2007 and January 13, 2008. The exhibit offers an engaging, free-flowing learning experience where the loveable Sesame Street Muppets guide children and families through an exciting collection of hands-on, interactive, multimedia experiences that allow them to explore the human body. The concept is a result of Sesame Workshop’s latest initiative, Healthy Habits for Life, to respond to the current childhood obesity crisis in the United States. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, and Thinkwell Design & Production created this special exhibit, currently on a national tour sponsored by New Balance. Sesame Street Presents: The Body teaches families about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially at an early age, by using Elmo and popular Sesame Street Muppets throughout the exhibit. 

The Sesame Street characters embody the idea that one can be any shape, size or color, but in the end we are all the same in many ways. The exhibit also presents that philosophy. The popularity of the Muppets will make this one-of-a-kind exhibit a powerfully positive and effective learning experience for children, providing them tools to help them make healthy choices and increase their level of self-confidence.

“The Health Museum is excited about presenting this exhibit because of its focus on creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle at an early age,” said Museum Vice President of Exhibits Phil Lindsey. “Childhood obesity has become a critical issue in our country. Sesame Street Presents: The Body gives parents and children a fun, engaging experience to learn about healthy habits with familiar faces leading the way.”

Sesame Street Presents: The Body offers a unique learning experience set in the highly recognizable and reassuring world of Sesame Street. Each area contains multiple activities that provide age-appropriate learning opportunities for children of various ages and developmental levels. All exhibit components are tied into the National Science Education Standards, the Benchmarks for Science Literacy and Sesame Workshop’s Healthy Habits for Life Curriculum. 

“Each component of The Body exhibit is geared toward children’s natural excitement about learning,” added Anna Housley Juster, Director of Content, Sesame Workshop. “We believe that children learn best through active participation and self-discovery. The exhibit features a wide range of opportunities for children to observe, investigate, experiment and talk about what they are learning with their parent or caregiver. Thinkwell has done a superb job of incorporating our content and characters with their design.”

Sesame Street Presents: The Body is divided into four zones:

• How You Work: Whether you are exercising, playing, dancing or even sleeping, your body is always hard at work. In “How You Work,” kids put their bodies to the test in “Super Grover’s Obstacle Course,” a physical movement station that encourages them to crawl, jump, balance and climb; “Rosita’s Locomotion,” where kids learn how different muscles work while pumping, rowing or running; and “Grover’s Dance Party,” a groovy disco where kids can boogie and move their bodies along with Grover.
  
  
• Your Insides: “Your Insides” is an exploration of what goes on inside the body. Activities include the “Count’s Organ Organ,” which musically teaches kids about their internal organs’ locations and functions; “Digestion with Oscar,” a display that shows kids what happens to food when they eat it; and “Oscar’s Sneeze Machine,” where children pull a lever to irritate a big nose that actually sneezes!
  
  
• Your Outsides: Children learn to identify different body parts, learn what they do and explore the many ways they can put them to use. Exhibits include “Your Wonderful Hands,” featuring puzzles, sign language games, shadow puppets and more; “Your Legs and Feet,” an interactive exhibit that shows what happens when you put your legs in motion; and “Use Your Head,” a play-along question and answer game show about the parts of the head.
  
  
• Staying Healthy: Learn how eating healthy foods, staying clean, and getting plenty of physical activity as well as sleep can help the body stay healthy. Ernie and Rubber Ducky get kids started in “Rub-A-Dub Tub,” a silly game that shows them just how much fun staying clean can be. Then it’s on to “Mr. Hooper’s Store,” where children scan groceries and learn specific messages about how different kinds of healthy foods are good for their bodies, and “Baby Bear’s Mini-Mart,” a toddler-sized activity area where children can stock up on a variety of healthy foods and drinks.

New Balance, a leading manufacturer of innovative performance footwear, is the national sponsor of Sesame Street Presents: The Body. The brand, which emphasizes the importance of fit and widths for kids through its “We Fit Kids” marketing campaign, is integrated into a “learn to tie your shoelaces” lesson as a partner in the Healthy Habits for Life program. Key elements of the exhibit are also featured on the New Balance website.

The exhibition is brought to you by the letters T, H, M and is on display at The Health Museum through January 13, 2008. Parents and caregivers can also visit www.sesamestreetpresents.org for a virtual tour of the exhibit as well as downloadable guides, educational materials and activities. Please visit www.thehealthmuseum.org for operating hours, general admission and group discounts.

ABOUT SESAME WORKSHOP

Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in children's lives around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and ground breaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa products right back into its educational projects for children around the world. Find the Workshop online at www.sesameworkshop.org.

ABOUT NEW BALANCE

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA, is a leading manufacturer of technologically innovative performance footwear and athletic apparel for women, men and children. The range of product categories in includes running, walking, training, basketball, tennis, cleated and kids. New Balance employs more than 2,800 people around the globe and in 2006 reported worldwide sales of $1.55 billion. For more information visit www.newbalance.com

ABOUT THINKWELL DESIGN & PRODUCTION

From blank page to opening day, Thinkwell Design & Production specializes in the creation of story-driven exhibits, attractions, live shows and environments. Their clientele is made up of museums, theme parks, Fortune 500 companies and destination resorts, including the Museum of Science and Industry, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Sesame Workshop, Universal Studios, DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Parks, and others. Thinkwell takes a holistic approach to design, bringing years of experience in design, education, operations, and marketing to create unique, immersive experiences that both entertain and educate. Headquartered in Burbank, Calif., Thinkwell also has a European production and sales office located in Barcelona, Spain. For more information about Thinkwell, visit their Web site at: www.thinkwelldesign.com.

ABOUT THE HEALTH MUSEUM

The John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science, also known as The Health Museum, is a member institution of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center and is located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District at 1515 Hermann Drive Houston, TX 77004. Admission to Sesame Street Presents: The Body requires an additional fee. General Admission, plus the Sesame Street add-on is $12 for adults and $11 for children ages 3-17 and senior adults. Museum members are admitted for $6 each and children two years of age and under are free.

Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Group discount rates are available by calling 713-521-1515, ext. 237. School field trip information is available at 713-521-1515, ext. 121. For information about the Museum or its programs, please call 713-521-1515 or visit www.thehealthmuseum.org.

The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science is an interactive and entertaining science experience for all ages that promotes understanding and appreciation of the human body, mind and spirit and inspires a lifelong commitment to health and wellness.

Contact

Susan Schmaeling
Principal, Susan Schmaeling Public Relations & Marketing
713-349-0780

Krista Schroen
Director, Marketing & Public Relations
713-942-7054, ext. 208
pr@thehealthmuseum.org