Salinas Valley Health Supports California International Airshow Salinas Participates in STEM Runway with the Return of the Mega Body Experience

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Karina Rusk 831-759-1843

Salinas Valley Health Supports California International Airshow Salinas
Participates in STEM Runway with the Return of the Mega Body Experience

SALINAS, CA, September 27, 2017- Salinas Valley Health (Salinas Valley Health) is helping to educate young people about good health during the California International Airshow Salinas. Enthusiastic public response to the MEGA Body experience has the interactive experience returning for a second year. MEGA Body is a larger than life, inflatable walk-through interactive exhibit of the human body designed to teach people about the risks, symptoms and causes of diseases. MEGA Body will be featured in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Runway at the Salinas Municipal Airport on Saturday and Sunday.

“The MEGA Body is a great teaching tool,” says Pete Delgado, President/CEO of Salinas Valley Health. “When children walk through the exhibit, our physicians and nurses will explain how the human body works and teach them about healthy living. We also hope these young students will be inspired to think about a career in healthcare.”

Approximately 500 students from Salinas, North County, San Ardo, Gonzales, Chualar, Soledad, Greenfield and King City will be taking tours of the exhibits on the STEM Runway including guided tours of MEGA Body. MEGA Body is 50 feet long, 15 feet wide and 12 feet high. Students will enter through MEGA Body’s mouth and hear presentations by Salinas Valley Health physicians, registered nurses and other staff volunteers about the functions of the brain, heart, lungs and digestive system.

“The MEGA Body is a lot of fun”, says Nadine Semer, MD, a physician with the Palliative Care Team at Salinas Valley Health. “This is such a great opportunity for Salinas Valley Health providers to get out in the community, to help students get excited about science and the healthcare field”.

“The STEM Runway continues to be a major part of the airshow,” says Don Chapin III, President of the California International Airshow Salinas. “We are grateful Salinas Valley Memorial continues to be a part of the airshow experience and we thank their volunteers for making the MEGA Body experience an unforgettable one for hundreds of children in Monterey County.”

Other exhibits featured in the STEM Runway include hands on activities on the respiratory system, the solar system, robotics, physics and engineering all of which are being made possible by Hartnell College. The goal of the STEM Runway is to get the children thinking about careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The tours take place Saturday and Sunday starting at 8:00 am and ending at 11:00am. Following the STEM activities, students will enjoy lunch and the airshow.

The STEM Runway started five years ago with 150 students participating; that number doubled the following year, and doubled again the year after. The STEM Runway is located on the Helicopter pad near Jet West at the Salinas Municipal Airport. Anyone attending the airshow can take a free tour of the MEGA Body exhibit and see the other exhibits.. The STEM Runway is sponsored by several local companies including Salinas Valley Health, Chevron, Taylor Farms, Dole and Tanimura & Antle.