Washington Elementary students work on a skeleton activity while visiting Washington State College of Ohio on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Washington Elementary second-graders spent a day outside of their usual classroom to participate in hands-on activities and interactive instruction at the Washington State College of Ohio Wednesday.

Although the college typically engages with upperclassmen at the high school, the day marked an event in collaboration with Marietta City Schools as part of its CKLA studies.

CKLA stands for core knowledge language arts and integrates science with reading literacy.

Second grade teacher Jessie Abrecht said the students were learning about the human body and she decided to reach out to WSCO about a potential activity collaboration to give the kids an opportunity to learn outside of the classroom.

“We teach a curriculum called CKLA and there’s a portion called knowledge and in our knowledge unit we have been learning about the human body,” said Abrecht.

Second-graders from Washington Elementary interact with the touchscreen table during an anatomy activity at Washington State College of Ohio on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Abrecht said she had reached out to the biology department at WSCO about potentially bringing the elementary students in for activities. Washington students attended Wednesday with students from Phillips Elementary visiting the college today.

“It’s really important for the kids to have experiences outside of the classroom because it really builds background knowledge,” she said. “By getting them out to Washington State College of Ohio it shows them that this is a possible place they could go to school in the future.”

Abrecht said it was really exciting to see the students excited to engage with the activities and apply their classroom knowledge to hands-on activities.

The students were separated into four groups and each group attended an activity focused on the human body. The activities included WSCO professors and assistants guiding the kids through organ studies, bone exploration, syndavers, and microscopes. Each activity was kid-friendly and geared towards their level of understanding.

“There are so many parts of our anatomy that are important, we talk about nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, all of those pieces connect with the human anatomy,” said Abrecht. “It’s important for them to understand what they need to do to keep their bodies healthy.”

Marietta City Schools Board of Education member Chris Fennell watches Washington Elementary students work on activities at Washington State College of Ohio on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Second grade student Olivia Graham said it was awesome to see the skeletons.

“I really liked learning about all of the organs,” she said. “There’s so many organs to learn about and they’re so cool.”

Graham said her favorite activity was where they could place where the muscles went on the human body using a diagram.

“It’s important because you need to know how to take care of your body and listen to your body,” she said.

Led by Assistant Professor of Biology Valerie Webster said the college was thrilled to provide the students with this opportunity.

Washington Elementary students Louise, Finley, and Oliver piece together muscle groups at Washington State College of Ohio on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

“There was a lot of planning that went into this and we wanted to welcome them here to the campus to show them all the really cool toys we have in the anatomy lab,” she said.

Webster said there was an anatomage table which was a large touchscreen the kids could interact with and look at various anatomical parts of the body.

She said students could assemble skeletons and muscles at the other group activities in the main building of the college.

“They seem like they’re having a really good time,” said Webster during the activities. “They arrived here and were super excited. They have paid attention well and followed the directions.”

She said this was the first event the biology department had with elementary students. Due to it being finals week for many of the college students, many of them were willing and able to volunteer and assist during the event.

“I think everyone really likes learning about the human body, because it’s so personal,” said Webster. “We all like to know about how our bodies work so even in second grade they’re interested in understanding organs and what bones and muscles look like.”

Second-grader Winnie Booth said she had a lot of fun and liked learning about the human body.

She said the most interesting thing she learned was about the body during physical activity.

“When you move fast your blood starts moving faster and when you move slowly your blood moves slower,” she said.

Booth participates in various sports and said she liked sports and how the body changes during those activities.

Phillips Elementary students will have the opportunity to participate in the same activities at the college today.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com