Kick it Up Obesity Program at Port Discovery Museum Utilizes Exergames

on Jul 19, 2012 at 10:17am

In 1990, the Baltimore Children’s Museum formed its own 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and merged with the Maryland Children’s Museum. The merged entity’s Board of Directors, with the support and encouragement of Baltimore’s Mayor Kurt Schmoke, decided that an Inner Harbor presence was necessary to reach the broadest possible audience of children and families in the Baltimore region, the state of Maryland and the United States.

A 35-million dollar capital campaign, led by the Board of Directors, resulted in the renovation of Downtown’s historic Fish Market building, which became the new home to Port Discovery Children’s Museum in December 1998. The 80,000 square foot facility served as the anchor for the redevelopment efforts of the City in the eastern basin of the Inner Harbor.

As part of their new unique “Kick It Up! Brought to You by UnitedHealthcare,” program the museum has added its latest permanent exhibit to help fight childhood obesity by promoting physical activity, wellness and prevention through the power of Exergaming.  When deciding on who to work with they went with the leaders in the Exergaming Industry, Exergame Fitness.

Since Exergaming came to the forefront of the health industry, Exergame Fitness was the first company to bring all of the separate products on the market together to design an "Exergaming Concept". Long ago they had seen a need for these products and waited to get enough products tested to create an Exergaming Concept that works. Exergame Fitness doesn't just sell products, they sell "proven products" that create a concept and gets fitness based results!

Some of the more interesting products that Port Discovery added to their unique exhibit was the TWall, WebRacer, iDANCE Multiplayer System and iJoy Boards.

The rules for T-wall are simple but challenging: on a wall with numerous touch surfaces, red signals light up in sequence of varying positions and speeds.  Your task: deactivate the light as soon as it appears by quick touch.  Act and react as quick as you can.  Your goal: Be faster than light. 

WebRacer allows the user to remain fully engaged and motivated while training or racing. Utilizing the latest technology WebRacer offers different routes live on screen and enables you to race with fellow riders. Whether it is within the studio, via the internet connected to other clubs live on screen, you are never short of a partner to train with or a group to race with.

The Positive Gaming™ iDANCE multiplayer concept is a revolutionary Exergaming system that was designed specifically for environments such as Schools, YMCA's, JCCs, Park Districts and Health Clubs. It is unique in many facets including the fact that it provides the user with a combination of physical, social and cognitive benefits and that it accommodates up to 32-players at once on up to 3 separate difficulty levels with real-time performance feedback.

Hop on the non-slip iJoy Board at Port Discovery and try out the balance trainer platform, selecting your program and speed using the infrared wireless remote control and enjoying the unique.  This is a interactive way to flatten your stomach and strengthen your legs and core muscles.  Test your skills by varying the speed — slow, medium or fast — or choose the 15-minute program that irregularly varies the board’s speed.

In its short history, Port Discovery Children’s Museum has served over 2.9 million visitors and ranks 4th among the Top 10 Children’s Museums in the United States by Child Magazine.  Exergame Fitness is proud to call Port Discovery a partner in the fight against childhood obesity.