Nutrition Mission Takes Off with Interactive CD-ROM
by Anonymous

BLACKSBURG, VA August, 2003 -- Teachers throughout the state of Pennsylvania can look forward to more help in the classroom with the launch of Nutrition Mission—a new instructional CD-ROM that combines science-based information with interactive lessons to deliver information about food, nutrition and physical activity in a kid-friendly way. Interactive Design & Development, Inc. (IDD) designed this unique program by taking basic nutrition information and transforming it into exciting and creative learning activities for fifth and sixth graders.

IDD worked with The Pennsylvania State University under a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program to create an instructional tool that teaches about healthy eating habits. Nutrition Mission is designed specifically to educate students about making wise snack and fast food choices and about the importance of daily physical activity.

It was created to help youth improve eating behaviors by providing information that focuses on their issues and identified needs. Kids can use the program to explore healthy eating and physical activity with fun games such as Snack Rater, Food Analyzer, and Pyramid Power. Teachers can use Nutrition Mission and its accompanying Web site (www.nutritionmission.psu.edu) to expand their resources and heighten learning in the classroom.

“Research shows that in order to be effective, nutrition education programs must excite youth, making learning about nutrition fun,” said Katherine L. Cason, associate professor of food science at Penn State. “Nutrition Mission uses a rich learning environment with emphasis on learning through exploration and examples. It is a versatile tool that teachers can use to enrich a number of different units of study in health and physical fitness, mathematics, science, technology, and language arts.”

IDD has developed numerous nutrition-based CD-ROMs and is influential in the creation of interactive software and Web sites that relate to health and physical activity. Nutrition Mission comes only months after the completion of another health-related project, Pepsico’s Get Active Stay Active Web site (www.getactivestayactive.com), which promotes a physically active lifestyle amongst teens.




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