Kids Bored at Home Over the Holidays? Send Them to Medical School

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Nov 19, 2012, 11:27 ET

CHICAGO, Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the calendar fills up over the next few weeks spending quality time at family gatherings, children might be inclined to spend the rest of their time off from school watching cartoons or playing video games. This holiday season parents can encourage more productive screen time with the American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) new online Mini Medical School.

The AOA's Mini Medical School, which is compatible with tablet devices, can be found at www.osteopathic.org in the About Your Health section.

Once children "enroll" in Mini Medical School, they can play a series of six interactive educational games that teach them about basic health concepts, including:

Bone Health — Match bones to the correct part of a skeleton.
Medical Instruments — Select which medical instruments are used to check different body parts.
Hygiene and Germs — Choose which good habits help prevent the spread of germs.
Organs — Drag the name of an organ into the correct sentence describing its function.
Nutrition — Move foods into the proper section of a plate organized by the five food groups.
Exercise — Highlight hidden exercises in a word search.

After completing all six parts, children can download a certificate of completion to show everyone that they are a Mini Medical School graduate.

About the American Osteopathic Association

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) proudly represents its professional family of more than 100,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) and osteopathic medical students; promotes public health; encourages scientific research; serves as the primary certifying body for DOs; is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical schools; and has federal authority to accredit hospitals and other health care facilities. More information on DOs/osteopathic medicine can be found at www.osteopathic.org.

SOURCE American Osteopathic Association