FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Karina Rusk 831-759-1843
SVMHS Supports California International Airshow Salinas
Participates in STEM Runway with the Return of the Mega Body Experience
SALINAS, CA, September 27, 2017- Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS) is helping to educate
young people about good health during the California International Airshow
Salinas. Enthusiastic public response to the MEGA Body experience has
the interactive experience returning for a second year. MEGA Body is a
larger than life, inflatable walk-through interactive exhibit of the human
body designed to teach people about the risks, symptoms and causes of
diseases. MEGA Body will be featured in the Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM) Runway at the Salinas Municipal Airport on Saturday
and Sunday.
“The MEGA Body is a great teaching tool,” says Pete Delgado,
President/CEO of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. “When
children walk through the exhibit, our physicians and nurses will explain
how the human body works and teach them about healthy living. We also
hope these young students will be inspired to think about a career in
healthcare.”
Approximately 500 students from Salinas, North County, San Ardo, Gonzales,
Chualar, Soledad, Greenfield and King City will be taking tours of the
exhibits on the STEM Runway including guided tours of MEGA Body. MEGA
Body is 50 feet long, 15 feet wide and 12 feet high. Students will enter
through MEGA Body’s mouth and hear presentations by SVMHS physicians,
registered nurses and other staff volunteers about the functions of the
brain, heart, lungs and digestive system.
“The MEGA Body is a lot of fun”, says Nadine Semer, MD, a
physician with the Palliative Care Team at SVMHS. “This is such
a great opportunity for SVMHS providers to get out in the community, to
help students get excited about science and the healthcare field”.
“The STEM Runway continues to be a major part of the airshow,”
says Don Chapin III, President of the California International Airshow
Salinas. “We are grateful Salinas Valley Memorial continues to be
a part of the airshow experience and we thank their volunteers for making
the MEGA Body experience an unforgettable one for hundreds of children
in Monterey County.”
Other exhibits featured in the STEM Runway include hands on activities
on the respiratory system, the solar system, robotics, physics and engineering
all of which are being made possible by Hartnell College. The goal of
the STEM Runway is to get the children thinking about careers in science,
technology, engineering and math. The tours take place Saturday and Sunday
starting at 8:00 am and ending at 11:00am. Following the STEM activities,
students will enjoy lunch and the airshow.
The STEM Runway started five years ago with 150 students participating;
that number doubled the following year, and doubled again the year after.
The STEM Runway is located on the Helicopter pad near Jet West at the
Salinas Municipal Airport. Anyone attending the airshow can take a free
tour of the MEGA Body exhibit and see the other exhibits.. The STEM Runway
is sponsored by several local companies including Salinas Valley Memorial
Healthcare System, Chevron, Taylor Farms, Dole and Tanimura & Antle.