Photo, Video and Writing by Amanda Shell, UH Med Now
Good Friday was Fun Friday for 70 children, in preschool through sixth-grade, who opted to spend the holiday at Kalihi’s Linapuni Elementary School for the fifth annual Keiki Health Camp, sponsored by the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) medical students.
The half-day event kicked off with a nutritious lunch, followed by a warm-up stretch and dance session where students showed off their best “chicken dance,” jumping jacks and renditions of “head, shoulders, knees and toes.”
Once moving, the youngsters rotated through various educational stations, all creatively crafted by members of the JABSOM MD Class of 2017’s Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society. This year’s camp featured activities focused on nutrition, fitness, hand-washing techniques, and even anatomy.
Visiting keiki prepared fruit and yogurt parfaits, illustrated well-balanced meals, learned how to identify parts of the human skeleton, and pieced together a three-dimensional magnetic “human anatomy” puzzle.
The “hand-washing” station was particularly popular as students had the opportunity to place their hands in a UV light box and clearly view the difference between clean and unwashed hands.
Students from the University of Hawai’i School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene hosted an array of special games to teach keiki how to brush and floss their teeth and how to avoid – or “hack” – the plaque.
Outdoor fitness festivities included baseball, soccer, and a jump rope jamboree.
The Keiki Health Camp is an annual event hosted by the medical school’s AOA Honor Medical Society. It is a 100% student-driven endeavor.
A special “Mahalo” to the medical students, pre-medicine volunteers and the community sponsors including HMSA, Sodexo, the Hawaii Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Pediatrics, who helped make this year’s Keiki Health Camp a great success!
2017 Keiki Health Camp Highlights from UHMed on Vimeo.
View Photos from our “2017 Keiki Health Camp” Flickr album:
