November 14th, 2011

Farnsworth Gets Healthy with the Vikings!

On Tuesday, November 1, the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital and Vikings Fitness Playbook Staff helped ACES kick-off its inaugural school year at Farnsworth Aerospace School in east St. Paul with a program about healthy lifestyles. The U of M and the Vikings then presented ACES with a $500 check for ACES to apply to its health and fitness initiatives with students!

Students cheered on the players as they answered questions about portion control and balanced meals. As part of the program, ACES students had the opportunity to participate in a variety of athletic activities with several Vikings.

The next morning, excited students received pedometers and Vikings Step-Up Challenge cards. These help motivate students to keep track of and increase the number of steps they take each day. Students participating in ACES can participate in the Step-Up Challenge with the prize of attending a Vikings game!

Middle school students in ACES are currently working on a health and wellness curriculum, looking at global statistics related to obesity and disease. Next month they will be interviewing local health professionals and creating advocacy posters about how to live healthier. Students are able to connect ideas from the Vikings visit, ACES activities, and their own research!

A special thanks to the University of Minnesota for putting together this great opportunity!