Children participating in the Rockin' Docs summer camp
Eight-year-olds Ruby Batke and Prova Roy are soaking in the experience of their latest summer camp. If nothing else, it's proving to be memorable.
"Today we're learning about the brain and yesterday we learned why smoking isn't good," says Ruby with a grin.
Prova adds, "I'm really interested in the head because we think and do everything with our brain and I want to learn more about how it works."
The two children are among more than 50 having their eyes opened to the world of medicine at this year's Rockin' Docs summer camps. Rockin' Docs is put on each year by first-year medical students in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry who are volunteering their time. The free camps are held for two weeks each summer, aimed at inner-city or lower income children who normally wouldn't get the chance to enjoy a summer camp.
Rockin' Docs coordinators, Barbara Pedrycz, Amarjot Padda and Jennifer Ng, say it's exciting to share their knowledge with the kids.
"It's been really positive," says Pedrycz. "They're eager to do activities and you can tell that they like to learn because they're always asking questions. They're very enthusiastic."
"I think that the activities that we have planned are really good at simplifying health and medical concepts to their level, to something that they can really understand," adds Padda.
The activities throughout the camps include teaching the kids about topics as varied as neurology and cardiology, along with more basic concepts such as the importance of healthy eating and washing your hands. It's done though in a way designed to be both entertaining and memorable for the children.
Padda describes one of the more popular activities during camp.
"It's called the helmet challenge. In this activity, we fill up water balloons and have the kids use craft supplies to make a helmet surrounding the balloon-with the balloon representing the brain. Then we test the helmets by dropping them on the concrete outside. Of course balloons that don't have any padding break right away and the ones that do have padding are much harder to break. The kids have an opportunity to see the importance of wearing a helmet or some type of protection."
The hope is the lessons learned at the Rockin' Docs camp will stick with the kids for the rest of their lives. The camp coordinators say it's not just the kids learning from the experience.
"A lot of times patients won't have the same in-depth knowledge that we do, so it's really important to learn how to communicate in a way that your audience can understand what you're saying," says Pedrycz.
Back with Ruby and Prova, they're excited to share what they've learned already in camp.
"The top part of your brain helps you touch and the back part helps you see," enthuses Prova.
Perhaps one day some of the kids may even find themselves choosing a career in medicine, but for at least one-Ruby-it still ranks second on the list of possible jobs in her future.
"I want to be a soccer player."
Rockin' Docs is sponsored by the Medical Students' Association, TD Bank, Medical Imaging Consultants, Sobeys, No Frills, Subway, Pita Pit, Panago and law firm Bennett Jones.