Stone Harbor Elementary School held a fun and educational health fair on Feb. 29.

Fourth grade students handle horseshoe crabs.

Where can you find Dance Dance Revolution, live horseshoe crabs, blueberry tarts and a Dermascan all in the same spot?
That would be the Stone Harbor Elementary School Health Fair. Physical education teacher, Paul Gallagher, and school nurse and instructor, Alice Wheaton, organized a great educational and fun event for the school community on Feb. 29.

Numerous organizations filled tables in the school’s all-purpose room as children, parents and teachers alike walked from station to station enjoying the exhibits. Phil Broder from the Wetlands Institute made a big hit with the kids with his tank of two adult horseshoe crabs and two babies. Why horseshoe crabs at a health fair you might ask? As Broder explained, “Any medicine that’s injected was tested on a horseshoe crab first.” Participants were encouraged to handle the crabs, and, in the hopes of earning seven years of good luck, several even kissed a crab on the shell.

Bridgette O’Connor from Cape May County MUA had some wonderful products on hand which were made from recycled materials. There were pencils created from old denim jeans, carpeting made from recycled soda bottles, and plastic lumber produced from shampoo bottles.

“Right now the county has a 33-36 percent recycling rate. Our goal is 50 percent,” she noted.

With all the impressive recycled items which were displayed, I know my family will be making a greater effort to save our resources.

What made a really big impression on me was the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield exhibit. Vinnie Smith had a contraption called a Dermascan which tested one’s skin damage from the sun. My face was a mass of freckles with purple and brown splotches. Not a good sign. I’ll be wearing more sun block from now on.
Dora Dunn from ACCC Culinary Arts was at the fair with some healthy snacks, Samantha Kiley from Atlanticare taught about “building a healthy plate,” and Marilou Rochford was there from Rutgers Cooperative Extension with a Pyramid Challenge.

Rutgers also has a new program called “Get Moving New Jersey.” Want to burn 150 calories? Try washing and waxing a car for 60 minutes, gardening for 40, shoveling snow for 15, playing volleyball for an hour, or biking five miles in 30 minutes. Wouldn’t it be much easier just to forego that ring ding?

Other exhibitors included Officer Jackson, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Shape Yoga. Fourth grader Frankie Phillips won a boogie board compliments of Wetsuit World. (Now that’s a calorie burning exercise that I love to do.) Needless to say, if you missed the Stone Harbor Elementary School Health Fair, you missed out on a lot.