Can Children’s Museums Deliver Effective Health Outreach?: Evaluation Results of the HealthWorks! Be A Food Groupie Program for Elementary Students

摘要

Objectives: We evaluated the Be A Food Groupie (BAFG) program’s impact on healthutrition knowledge among elementary students who received BAFG at HealthWorks! children’s museum. Methods: In 2012-2013, we conducted a matched comparison evaluation using pre-/post-tests among 446 intervention and 524 comparison students (N = 970) in Grades 3-5 recruited from 11 Mississippi schools to determine whether BAFG improved healthutrition knowledge across three domains: 1) comprehending food labels, 2) understanding serving sizes, 3) understanding food groups. Results: After controlling for pre-test scores, ANCOVA results indicate that intervention students scored significantly higher on the post-test across all three domains and across all three grades as compared to comparison students. Third-grade intervention students had significantly higher post-test scores overall than their comparison counterparts, F (1,288) = 52.02, p < .001, h2 = .153. Fourth-grade intervention students had significantly higher post-test scores overall than their comparison counterparts, F (1,373) = 58.52, p < .001, h2 = .136. Fifth-grade intervention students had significantly higher post-test scores overall than their comparison counterparts, F (1,300) = 151.71, p < .001, h2 = .336. Conclusion: BAFG results support the argument that interactive healthutrition education programs at children’s museums can positively impact children’s health knowledge and, therefore, can support learning beyond the school setting. When children’s museums and schools collaborate to develop long-term partnerships to enhance children’s learning experiences that—like BAFG—meet state-mandated requirements, programmatic impacts can be further augmented. Children’s museums can provide supplemental health-related education—including obesity prevention information—that can be reinforced at school, home, and in the community.