Activity (Hands-On)Grades 3 - 5
Walk, Run, Jump!
Figure 1. Exercise helps make our muscles strong!Copyright U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, http://www.fitness.gov/1-Kids_Misc_Exercise.gif.
In this activity, students participate in a series of timed relay races using their skeletal muscles. They compare the movement of skeletal muscle and relate how engineers help astronauts exercise skeletal muscles in space.
Engineers need to understand how the human body works in order to design devices to help our bodies. In particular, engineers working at NASA need to know how astronauts' muscles work, so they can examine how microgravity affects their muscles.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- List the three types of muscles and identify each as voluntary or involuntary.
- Explain why exercise is important to maintaining healthy muscles.
- Describe how engineers and our muscles work together as a team.
- Practice using a clock to measure time.