Anatomy Academy!

 Enlist your kids, neighbors, and cousins.  Let plan Anatomy Academy!  Let’s keep it simple and plan three mornings, from 9–noon. 

1. Decide which week you want to host Academy.  Why?  You need to get a doctor or nurse volunteer.  You also want to contact the local rescue squad or fire department.  Explain that you are hosting Anatomy Academy and would like for the kids to tour the rescue squad and see an ambulance.  The kids would love to leave more about emergency response.  Could they take turns being a victim?  Be sure to enlist help!  Who is driving?  How many kiddos are coming?  Is the rescue squad large enough to split the group up into stations?  How long will a tour last?

2.  Talk to the nurse volunteer.  Could she teach the kiddos how to measure their vitals?  One time, a parent, nurse technician,  came in to my Anatomy class and demonstrated an entire physical assessment.  Ask the nurse if she has blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, oximeters, otoscopes, etc.  Does the nurse need help?  How many kiddos does she want to work with at one time?  How long does she anticipate it taking to teach the children how to do a physical assessment?  

3.  Get photos of each child.  Let them draw their outlines on paper with photos of their faces.  The Life-Size Human Body Project has instructions and free printables. (The web page is very cluttered.)  You may want to use Mr. Skeleton instead.  Print the skeleton on to card stock.  

4.  Let’s make a long list of fun activities.   Human Body Resources from Ellen McHenry’s Basement has paper models (including the Brain  hat), Anatomy T-shirt, and  Body Bingo.  The page has loads of ideas!  Buy a bag of body parts candy for Bingo prizes.

More ideas include  Make a Stethoscope, Measure Lung Capacity, Build a Heart, Measure Heart , Pasta Skeleton, Mini First Aid Kits, Chalk Academy, clay models, Blood, Human Body Ratios, and Reaction Time Ruler.

Still more ideas….Download coloring pages: The Heart, Digestive System, or Human Body. Coloring pages and clay models are perfect for start-up, the time at the beginning of Academy when you are waiting for everyone to arrive. Spotify has a Human Anatomy playlists.   Really!  Don’t forget Dem Bones or the original Spiritual song.  We also like Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts.  We sing and chant at the beginning of camp.  Below is a schedule from a previous five-day Academy to give you even more ideas.  For example, we invited a police officer to teach us Forensics.