St. Alphonsus school held first health fair

St. Alphonsus Parish School held its first health fair, a four-day event celebrating good nutrition, exercise, hand washing, vision care, germ avoidance, and "blood and guts."

That ear-catching theme boasted interactive anatomical exhibits including a healthy pig lung suspended next to an unhealthy one affected by cigarette smoking. Rubber brains, giant teeth, and human skulls fascinated students who handled them.

Kids wore rubber gloves to squeeze the pair of pig lungs. A few pledged never to smoke, and one said the idea of smoking is "crazy."

Susan Dunn, a registered nurse at Virginia Mason Medical Center, volunteered at a display with a human skull and rubber brain to illustrate the importance of bicycle helmets. She was very direct and said, "You can get serious brain damage if you ride your bike without a helmet and hit your head here." She pointed to a vulnerable spot on the skull.

Students seemed fascinated with the large femur bone belonging to another skeleton visiting the school. Some waved it about like a Fred Flintstone leftover.

The April 7-10 event might become a biennial event according to Linda Broderick who organized the fair. She said it was a huge success.

"Kids were oohing and aahing and we also got a positive response from their parents," said Broderick, the mother of three sons, one who graduated the school recently, and two who still attend.

She said she got the "blood and guts" idea from visiting a similar exhibit at last year's International Children's Festival at the Seattle Center. Group Health Community Foundation sponsored that exhibit.

"They loaned us the exhibit items for our health fair. We were only able to accept half the displays they offered us."