The chesapeake children's museum will add educational features to exhibits promoting healthy nutrition and activity as well as facilitate on and off-site workshops

The Chesapeake Children's Museum will use a $100,000 Project Grant award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services' National Leadership Grants program to expand nutrition and physical activity educational programming. The museum will add new educational materials and bilingual content to its permanent "Body Works" exhibit focusing on nutrition, exercise, and diabetes prevention. Nutrition workshops will incorporate food preparation and tasting of nutritious foods from the museum's garden. Physical activity workshops will include hiking, games, folk dancing, and other movement-based activities. Schools, childcare centers, and organizations serving low-income families impacted by COVID-19 will have waived or reduced fees for onsite visits or offsite workshops delivered in Spanish and English by new bilingual staff. The grant period is from November 1, 2021 through October 31, 2022.

The permanent onsite 'body works' exhibit, which supports children's pretend play in a medical office setting, will have additional educational materials and bilingual content for visitors to learn more about nutrition, exercise, and diabetes prevention. Nutrition workshops will integrate preparation and tasting of nutritious foods, including vegetables and herbs harvested from the museum's garden. Physical activity workshops will incorporate large motor activity through short hikes, group games, multi-cultural folk dance, and other movement-based activities. Schools, childcare centers, and other entities primarily serving low-income families most affected by the covid-19 pandemic will have waived and reduced fees to visit chesapeake children's museum, or options to have a hands-on workshop brought to their site. The addition of spanish-speaking staff will help bridge the language barrier for spanish-speaking families participating in museum programming.