NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE PARTICIPATES IN GROWING UP IN WASHINGTON DAY
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DC Mayor Anthony Williams contemplates a human brain, while Penny Fletcher of the Capital Children's Museum and Catherine Bonomo of the National Museum of Health and Medicine look on. On Saturday, April 15th, the National Museum of Health and Medicine participated in Growing Up in Washington Day, along with more than 20 off-the-mall organizations and nearly 700 visitors. During the all-day celebration at the Capital Children's Museum, the participating organizations supplied engaging activities and information about their programs. Mayor Anthony Williams issued a proclamation officially declaring Growing Up in Washington Day.

Growing Up in Washington is the theme for a year-long initiative exploring the experiences of young people - past and present - and their neighborhoods in the metropolitan area. Growing Up In Washington marks the first time that so many local organizations have banded together to explore a single theme. The National Museum of Health and Medicine is one of over twenty "off-the-Mall" cultural organizations participating in Growing Up In Washington, a project that commemorates the millennium as well as Washington's bicentennial. The Museum is currently exhibiting a display of photographs, visitor comments, and other artifacts to represent what the museum has meant to children growing up in Washington. Hands-on health abounds, as young visitors eagerly wait for a chance to examine human organs and skeletal structures, and to use a stethoscope. DC Mayor Anthony Williams gets an anatomy lesson from National Museum of Health and Medicine volunteers Catherine Bonomo and Regina Hunt. Visitors learned more about their bodies with hands-on activities sponsored by the National Museum of Health and Medicine. The Museum displayed artifacts and interactive models relating to its "Human Body, Human Being" exhibit. A real human lung, heart, stomach, and more were available for guests to touch, and to compare with a realistic model of the human body. Plaster casts of male and female skulls, pelvises, and jaw sections revealed clues about human development and identification. Museum staff explained how the body systems work, and answered questions. The Museum also provided an album featuring the photographs and reminiscences of its Growing Up in Washington exhibit. Puzzles and activity sheets relating to the human body were distributed. In a ceremony held at 2 p.m., DC Mayor Anthony Williams issued a proclamation officially declaring Growing Up in Washington Day. He applauded the efforts of the participating organizations to band together around the Growing Up in Washington millennium theme. Mayor Williams spoke to the youth in the audience, and urged them to reflect upon the successes and failures throughout history, and to set goals as they realize their own life-histories. Prior to his announcement, the mayor visited with Museum staff at their booth, and learned first-hand about the Museum's anatomical collections. Learning about the body is a family affair during Growing Up in Washington Day. Other activities throughout the Capital Children's Museum included live music, art exhibits, book readings, computer demonstrations, dress-up costumes and historical games. Other participating organizations included DC Cable TV, the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, B'nai B'rith Klutznik National Jewish Museum, the C&O Canal, National Women's Democratic Club, the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., Everybody Wins!, Decatur House Museum, the Kreeger Museum, Georgetown Visitation, and the Northern Virginia Youth Symphony.

Past News Events:

Local students attend brain awareness week sessions
Growing Up in Washington
Brain Awareness Week

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