Health Fair Ideas for Kids

Kids enjoy health fair exhibits they help to create. At school, they can share productive ideas or they can compete for "best exhibit." Public health fairs should involve input by children as well.

Pictures Help Kids Remember

• A health fair should include colorful pictures. Giant posters of kids exercising, eating a healthy-type snack, or harvesting vegetables from a home garden make lasting impressions. Kids need to see themselves in the role of growing healthier.

Numbers Can Help Kids Aim for Health

• Kids today have weight issues for many reasons. A health fair should include charts showing kids what they should weigh for their height. Exhibits should show how many calories certain exercises will burn.

Exercise Should be Fun

• Every child has a favorite way to stay active. Health fairs should demonstrate the wide variety of choices: skateboarding, basketball, running, cheerleading. Promote hiking with a parent or grandparent and other group activities for staying fit.

Help Kids See the Future

• Provide photos of kids, parents, and grandparents to show kids they will age. Help kids visualize how health promotes a better body, better life, and longevity. Provide photos of healthy older citizens at a health fair who are trim and fit. Point to them as role models.

Offer Interactive Demonstrations

• Booths at a health fair might provide demonstrations of how to combine foods. Kids can use computer tools to combine foods for a healthy salad by using the mouse. They could also point to wise food choices versus bad choices from photos or magazine clippings.

Emphasize Habits in Building Health

• Kids need to see demonstrations of how to make good choices. Help kids see that brushing one's teeth, visiting a dentist, visiting a doctor, getting enough sleep, and eating wisely all add up.