The Health Museum Debuts 12-Foot Giant Heart to Kick Off Heart Health Month
The Health Museum is debuting their 12-foot-tall Giant Beating Heart exhibit just in time for Heart Health Month in February. The Giant Beating Heart is just one of the featured exhibits in the museum’s newly renovated Amazing Body Gallery.
“The heart is an amazing display of the Texas Medical Center’s pioneers, Denton Cooley, M.D., and Michael Debakey, M.D.,” said Melanie Johnson, CEO and president of The Health Museum. “We pay homage to our pioneers and all of the firsts that we have regarding heart surgeries and transplants throughout the Texas Medical Center.”
The Centers for Disease Control designated February as Heart Month to raise awareness and prevent heart disease. Their goal for Heart Month is to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the United States by 2017. The CDC is encouraging Americans to know their blood pressure, and if it’s high, to make control their goal. Because heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, it is important for people of all ages to be aware of their heart health.
The Giant Beating Heart exhibit was installed to show visitors what the heart looks like on a large scale. Every fifteen minutes it simulates a myocardial infarction or, in layman’s terms, a heart attack.
“The heart is very engaging and interactive—it is larger than life because we want to impress upon very impressionable young minds how important the heart is to being alive and staying alive and fit,” Johnson said.
In addition to the heart, The Health Museum is unveiling the Amazing Body Gallery that houses 30 interactive kiosks for guests to learn about their bodies. The gallery features the Calorie Crank, a Giant Human Hamster Wheel, a Jump, Stretch and Hang activity center, a Colon Maze and Body Slice displays, in addition to much more.
“It was very important to myself and our Board of Directors to keep the students and visitors very busy and actively engaged while in the gallery,” Johnson said. “Our Calorie Crank requires you to spin the wheel as hard as you can to ward off calories from hamburgers and salads and show the difference between the two.”
The Amazing Body Gallery was one of the original galleries to open in The Health Museum in 1996, and for the last 10 months, it has undergone a 2,000-square-foot renovation. In its 20th year, the museum is still Houston’s most interactive science learning center, situated beside the Texas Medical Center.
The Giant Beating Heart will officially be revealed to The Health Museum guests on February 1, 2016.
