Falk Library hosted students from Propel Andrew Street High School in Munhall, PA, to visit the National Library of Medicine’s Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness exhibit, which closed on May 31, 2015. The visit to the exhibit capped off the students’ six week exploration of topics such as public health, health disparities, and social determinants of health. The program outline was created as a collaboration between Timothy McMurray, science teacher, Christopher Taylor, social studies teacher, and Kimberly Moses, technology teacher, at Propel Andrew Street, along with Lydia Collins, consumer health coordinator at the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region.
The students worked in small groups to complete two activities. In the scavenger hunt, students watched interviews on iPads to find clues that illustrated the exhibit’s five themes. The other activity followed one of the lesson plans featured on the exhibit’s Web site. This led to a discussion on the impact of western expansion on native people’s environment, culture, and health.
Upon completion of the visit, the students interviewed individuals in their communities on their thoughts about the health of individuals where they live. This gave the students the opportunity to apply what they learned through the Native Voices interviews and design their own interview questions for members of their own community.
~Julia Dahm