May 9, 2008

Child's Play: A day of events for children at the MGH

On May 2, MGHers played host to some very special young guests during two hospital events: the Children's Health Fair and Take Your Children to Work Day. During the Children's Health Fair, which is presented by the MassGeneral Hospital for Children, more than 2,500 schoolchildren from Boston and surrounding areas visited interactive booths and displays to learn about nutrition, exercise, fire safety, heart health and more. The theme of the fair was "Cast Your Vote for Good Health," which aimed to teach children that their voices count when making decisions about their health.

PLAYING DOCTOR: Young visitors enjoy the Children's Health Fair.

During the Take Your Children to Work Day event, hosted by MGH Human Resources, children and parents spent the morning touring the hospital, visiting the Ellison 16 helipad, Police and Security's Dispatch Center and the construction site for the new Building for the Third Century. They also had the chance to participate in a role-playing exercise hosted by Leslie Strachan and Janet Loughlin of the Employee Assistance Program, a special relaxation session led by Laura Malloy of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at MGH and were treated to a presentation on shark biology and conservation by Daniel Badger of the New England Aquarium. Later that afternoon, the young "MGHers-in-training" visited the Children's Health Fair and ended their day with an ice cream sundae party.