The OrganWise Guys – A School Nutrition and Physical Activity Program

The OrganWise Guys are a unique school nutrition and physical activity program. The bunch of cute, plush puppets teach pre-school and elementary aged children about basic health and nutrition.

The puppets are shaped like organs in the human body: Hardy Heart, Sid and Kid Kidney (the Kidney Brothers), Sir Rebrum (the brain), and others. Through a series of informative graphics, songs, and goofy jokes, the OrganWise Guys teach children what their organs do and what affects those organs.

Here the Kidney Brothers talk about the elimination of toxins from the kidneys and the value of water in keeping the kidneys working properly.

The OrganWise Guys also talk/sing about basic hygiene, such as washing hands after using the bathroom and washing hands before eating.

Curriculum sent to schools includes grade-specific and school-wide nutrition and physical activity materials, ten-minute desk-side physical activities to keep kids active during the day (and, hopefully, wear off some of that energy that builds up from sitting too long), grade-specific activity books to reinforce the nutrition healthy lifestyle behavior lessons, and the Foods of the Month Club, which puts an emphasis on nutrient-rich foods that reflect the health principles taught by the OrganWise Guys.

The program is several years old and has been used to good effect. It’s being taught in more than 5000 schools just this year.

Whenever I take my daughter to the museum, she wants to stop by the gift shop and beg me for those plush toys shaped like viruses and bacteria. I knew this would catch her eye. The OrganWise Guys aren’t in her school, but hopefully, she’ll remember the lessons in these videos.