Discovery Place Kids’ Kati Thomas shows Blythe Elementary second grader Nicole Sivells how large an adult femur is.

Thomas visited the Blythe Elementary second grade to discuss the human skeletal and muscular systems. She visited as part of the Learn Well, Be Well program - an initiative supported by Novant Health and Presbyterian Hospital providing education and wellness resources to schools at no cost and promoting health education through community partnerships.

This year marks the second year the program has been offered, and Hopewell High School ninth graders, Alexander Middle School sixth graders, and Blythe Elementary School second graders are participating.

Thomas brought human leg, arm and ear bones to show the students, a preserved human heart, as well as replicas of adult and newborn skulls and hip and knee joints. Students learned the names for different types of joints, such as ball and socket, pivot, and hinge joints. They also discussed the difference between voluntary muscles, such as leg and arm muscles, and involuntary muscles, such as the heart. They identified the largest and smallest bones in the human body, and talked about the ways to keep their bones and muscles healthy.

“We have to take good care of them,” Thomas said, by drinking plenty of water, exercising and eating right.