Terre Haute Children’s Museum to open new FIT Gym exhibit
What is your heart rate? Stretch those arms! Get stepping with your legs! How far can you reeeeea-ch? Use those core muscles to balance on a wobbly disk! It’s all in our new exhibit, FIT Gym! Guests to the Terre Haute Children’s Museum will have the opportunity learn the five components of fitness and measure their progress in the all-new FIT Gym, opening October 5, 2018 at 4 p.m.
John Newport, president of the Terre Haute Children’s Museum board of directors, said this new exhibit adds to the excitement for kids and families in the Wabash Valley.
“We’ve learned,” Newport said, “that families love the Museum and appreciate the hands-on learning opportunities, but they want more active exhibits and experiences that would engage their kids as they grow older. FIT Gym helps accomplish that.”
When the museum surveyed health and fitness experts to determine the focus of the exhibit, they resoundingly said we need to get kids moving. Indiana physical fitness standards highlight five elements of fitness as does the exhibit: body composition, cardio, endurance, flexibility, and strength. FIT Gym has equipment and challenges that make exercising for these elements fun and inviting.
Jamie McDowell, interim executive director of the Museum, said this addition gives our guests another opportunity to learn, this time about their own bodies, and measure their growth.
“It’s one thing to learn the definitions of ‘cardio’ or ‘flexibility’ but it’s another thing to measure your own flexibility, perform some specific activities to improve and then measure again!”
This project continues the fundraising campaign that began in 2016 and helped add the Ropes Challenge Course in June 2018. To date, the campaign has raised nearly $500,000 towards these projects, with major gifts and pledges from the Hollie and Anna Oakley Foundation, the Charles Morgan Carraway and Joanne M Carraway Charitable Foundation, Fitness Solutions, Inc. and Vectren.
FIT Gym is located on the first floor of the Museum, under the new Ropes Challenge Course.
The Terre Haute Children’s Museum, located at the corner of 8th Street and Wabash Avenue in downtown Terre Haute, is a nonprofit institution dedicated to enriching our children’s lives through the exploration of science and technology. The Museum receives no city, state or federal funding, relying solely on visitor fees, gifts, donations, and grants to fund its world-class educational exhibits and programs.
Museum admission is free for members of the Terre Haute Children’s Museum and children under 24 months. Regular admission is $8 for adults and children over 24 months. Families who participate in qualifying assistance programs can enroll in the Access Pass program, which allows them to visit the Museum for just $2 per family member per visit. To learn more about this program, visit thchildrensmuseum.com/join/
For more information about the Museum, visit www.thchildrensmuseum.com, email info@