Please Touch Museum to offer summer programing for children, families

With summer right around the corner, The Please Touch Museum is offering programming that will help students learn healthy habits and practices through play-based experiences.

“Ready. Set. School.” is a summer-long initiative where children and families can visit the museum and learn about the importance of health and wellness. The program will feature four aspects of health including nutrition, dental, mental health and exercise.

“Although summer is just beginning, we must use these next three months, especially as we manage the ongoing presence of COVID-19 in our daily lives, to ensure that children and their grownups are prepared to return to school in the fall,” said president and CEO of the Please Touch Museum Patricia D. Wellenbach in a statement.

“Through our work at the Museum, we know that when young children are healthy in mind, body, and spirit, they are better prepared to learn in school,” Wellenbach added.

The summer initiative is a partnership between Please Touch, Independence Blue Cross and Philadelphia Children’s Hospital.

Eligible children and adults will also be able to receive vaccinations from COVID on site and community resource partners will be present to offer health-related information.

“The past two years have been immensely difficult for all of us, but especially for the children of this city,” said president President of the Independence Blue Cross Foundation Lorina Marshall-Blake in a statement.

“With the interruption to in-person learning in 2020 and the challenges of the past academic year, we must make every effort to help children be at their best when they return to school after summer break,” Marshall Blake added.

In addition to CHOP’s onsite COVID-19 vaccine clinic, each Community Day will programmatically address a different aspect of health and wellness for children and families. Keystone First will also be onsite at the Please Touch Museum to provide resources associated with the programs.

The first “Ready. Set. School.” Community Day is set for Sunday, June 26 with these free admissions days occurring every three weeks through Sunday, August 28.

“We are delighted to partner on “Ready. Set. School.” this summer and look forward to connecting with children and families on these topics of health and wellness,” said Market president of Keystone First Joanne McFall in a statement.

“The community resources Keystone First will provide onsite will help to reinforce the planned programming and help ensure that the kids who make a summer visit – or two – to the Museum will be prepared for a healthy and successful school year come fall,” McFall added.

The Ready. Set. School. Community Days – with programming – are as follows:

Eating for Energy

June 26 | 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Just like cars and buses need gas to run, our bodies need healthy food for energy. On this Community Day, children and families can explore the new Food & Family exhibit and festival area to learn all about food: where it comes from, how it brings communities together, and how it gives our bodies energy, so we are ready to learn in school.

Healthy Smiles

July 17 | 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Smiles are a simple way to show people that you care. And taking care of your own smile is just as important. On this Community Day, in the Albert M. Greenfield Makerspace, children and families are invited to explore animal teeth and learn how they are similar — and different from — human teeth, listen to themed story times, participate in a pop-up activity about germs and why washing hands before you put food in your mouth is important.

Understanding Feelings

August 7 | 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Sometimes, we feel happy, sad, mad, or confused. All these feelings are normal, and how we express these feelings is important. On this Community Day, children and families are invited for special story times on feelings, interactive yoga sessions, and Creative Arts Studio programs that explore expressing feelings through art- making.

Bust a Move

August 28 | 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Active bodies promote active minds that are ready for learning! This final Community Day is rooted in movement and motion. Children and families can visit the Albert M. Greenfield Makerspace to learn about heart health, participate in movement workshops throughout the day, take a walk through the Museum and end the visit with a special edition of the End of Day Parade.

To make a reservation for the Community Days at the Please Touch Museum visit, https://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/visit/online-reservations/.