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SDSU nursing students teach kids healthy summer habits at zoo

Children visiting South ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć State University nursing students' health fair at the Great Plains Zoo spread sunscreen on ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć characters to learn about sun safety.
Children visiting South ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć State University nursing students' health fair at the Great Plains Zoo on June 16 spread sunscreen on ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć characters to learn about sun safety.

A group of 37 South ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć State University nursing students promoted healthy summer habits by holding a health fair at the Great Plains Zoo on June 16.

A child plays with bean bags with South ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć State University nursing students at a health fair at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls on June 16.
Visitors played with bean bags with SDSU nursing students at the health fair at the zoo.

The event, which offered the zooā€™s youngest visitors lessons in water safety, sun protection and physical activity, served as pediatric clinical experience for the SDSU students. The organizers were all second-semester nursing students from the programā€™s Sioux Falls site.

ā€œThe students spend some time in the hospital with acutely ill children, and this is their non-acute experience, where they get to interact with children who are healthy. They engage with the kids and really learn how kids learn best, how to interact with kids, talk to kids,ā€ said Cori Heier, lecturer in the SDSU College of Nursing.

ā€œWeā€™ve got our health promotion activities here, so this is a really great way for the students to incorporate health teaching while theyā€™re learning and assessing childrenā€™s health and development. And then how do we adjust our teaching based on what weā€™re noticing, different age groups, etc.?ā€

Heier said the zoo was a perfect location for the health fair because it attracts a steady stream of visitors from a wide age range. ā€œWe were so thankful to be able to come to the zoo today and have this community partnership.ā€

In preparation for the event, the nursing students had refreshers on different developmental levels for kids and what types of activities were appropriate for a variety of ages.

Children spent their time at the health fair learning about water safetyā€”discovering which items sink or float in a tub of water, trying on life jackets and hearing about safe swimming tips. At the sun safety station, kids spread sunscreen on ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć characters to make sure everything was covered.

Physical exercise activities included bowling, kicking soccer balls, throwing footballs and bean bags, and running through bubbles set up near the picnic shelter. Activities also incorporated ą£ą£Ö±²„Šćs, such as walk like a bear, hop like a frog and run like a cheetah, to make exercise fun.

Lesly Gonzalez, a second-semester nursing student from Garretson who is part of SDSUā€™s Sioux Falls standard B.S.N. program, spent most of her time at the health fair guiding children in the sink-or-float demonstration.

ā€œI think kids have been loving it. Theyā€™ve been listening, and some of them have taught me a thing or two about their favorite ą£ą£Ö±²„Šćs,ā€ Gonzalez said.

She said the event helped reinforce what the nursing students should observe for childrenā€™s development in each age group.

ā€œWeā€™re watching these kids at different age groups being able to meet milestones, how they move their arms, being able to hold their head up, talking to us. Things like that are really valuable for us to know in the future,ā€ Gonzalez said.

Kids try on life jackets with the help of South ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć State University nursing students at a health fair at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls on June 16.
Kids try on life jackets with the help of South ą£ą£Ö±²„Šć State University nursing students.

Grace Rengel, a second-semester nursing student from Maple Grove, Minnesota, manned the sunscreen safety station and helped with physical activity.

ā€œJust by bringing the kids in and being open and inviting, weā€™re observing how they move and participate in the activities, how they respond to our questions,ā€ Rengel said.

Both agreed there were benefits for the kids and parents in attendance as well, including passing on safety tips and stressing the importance of physical activity.

Patsy Hendricks, a teacher from Brookings, attended the health fair with her daughter and granddaughter and said she appreciated the nursing studentsā€™ efforts.

ā€œWe knew we were coming to the zoo, and we saw the health fair, so it all worked out. We love to support anything SDSU does, so being able to stop and just reinforce these skills was important to us as a family,ā€ Hendricks said.

ā€œFor me, from a teacherā€™s perspective, I like seeing the different things the students planned to reach all levels of children and families. ā€¦ You have to reach the kidsā€™ level to help them understand, and I think the students have done a really good job with it, with the activities they have here,ā€ Hendricks added.

A child and an SDSU student run through bubbles at a health fair at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls on June 16.
Physical activities offered at the SDSU nursing students' health fair at the Great Plains Zoo included running through bubbles.