Kaiser’s latest gift to Explorit keeps science on the move

Since 1992, Kaiser Permanente has been financially supporting hands-on science educations programs at Explorit Science Center in Davis. Both organizations serve the same broad population in the Sacramento area, making our partnership ideal.

As a Kaiser pediatrician and president of Explorit’s Board of Trustees, I know firsthand that we share important goals. We want to promote healthful behaviors, and we want to bring this message to vulnerable and underserved children and families.

Since 2001, Kaiser contributed more than $110,000 to Explorit to launch and sustain an outreach program called “Health in Your World,“ which places a special emphasis on underserved populations. Kaiser’s approach to medical care emphasizes preventative health maintenance, and “Health in Your World” provides scientifically based health education that reinforces this core mission.

The program is typically set up in a school multipurpose room. About 15 activity stations allow children and parents to engage in hands-on learning. A few examples:

• A five-pound “fat belt” lets people feel the impact of extra weight.

• By breathing through a straw, visitors learn what asthma feels like.

• Participants can use a hand-pump to inflate pig lungs. A healthy set of lungs inflates well; not so for a set that has been treated to mimic a smoker’s lungs.

More than 4,000 people attended a “Health in Your World’ Family Science Night last year. Maybe those pig lungs will discourage some of them from becoming a smoker!

Kaiser also supports Explorit’s assembly program, “Journey Through the Human Body,” as well as several on-site exhibits and school programs. Kaiser continues to contribute annually to these programs; to date, the grants and donations to Explorit total more than $275,000.

The most recent evidence of Kaiser’s support is quite visual: It’s a minivan, recently purchased with a $15,000 gift from Kaiser. This week the van was decorated with vehicle graphics that instantly brand it as part of Explorit’s fleet. The center will use the van to take hands-on science materials to school programs throughout 18 counties in Northern California.

Throughout my involvement with Explorit, I have been supported by Kaiser Permanente through contributions of time from many other Kaiser employees, as well as the monetary support of Explorit’s programs in our community. I hope to see the Kaiser-Explorit partnership and the center’s science education programs thrive for many years to come.

_______________________

Explorit Science Center has two exhibitions running: “The Energy Story” and “Move It! Science in Action.” Admission is $4 general, free for age 3 and under. The museum is open from 2-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Explorit is at 2801 Second St., Davis. For more information: (530) 756-0191 or www.explorit.org