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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (June 22, 2010) — The Hands On! Regional Museum in Johnson City, Tenn., is known for its fun, educational attractions for children, but a recent exhibit also provided a hands-on learning experience for a group of six occupational therapy students from Milligan College.
Last year, the museum hosted an exhibit called “Kids Like You & Me” for children to learn about disabilities through discovery and hands-on activities. The attraction featured activities such as wheelchair basketball, a blindfolded wall-climbing challenge and adaptive equipment used by people with disabilities.
Milligan’s Master of Science in occupational therapy (MSOT) students performed a study to examine how effective Kids Like You & Me was at educating families about children with special needs. The students prepared a survey, which visitors completed after experiencing the exhibit. The students administered the survey and recorded their data over a five-month period.
“Our survey found that the exhibit was very effective,” said Valerie Waruszewski, an OT student from Johnson City. “It was neat to see people — parents and children— come in and have those ‘a-ha’ moments and really discover what it might be like to have special needs.”
The survey indicated the exhibit had a positive effect on how participantsand their children view children with special needs. Participants were also asked to rate their favorite portion of the exhibit. Wheelchair basketball was the favorite, with the adaptive equipment earning the next highest rating.
“Rarely do you have an opportunity like this to measure the impact of one of our exhibits,” said Trish Patterson, executive director of Hands On! Regional Museum. “This study gave us some real, measurable data we can use. This helps us when we apply for grants.”
The research project was also very beneficial for the students, which included Nikki Harr, of Piney Flats; Carrisa Street and Tara Hensley, of Unicoi; Rebecca Moorer, of Elizabethton; Courtney (Whitaker) Boren, of Greeneville; and Waruszewski.
“This study allowed the students to see the possibilities of what they’re doing in occupational therapy and how it makes a difference,” said Dr. Christy Isbell, associate professor of occupational therapy at Milligan. “Students are more invested in the topic when they do feel like we’re making a difference as occupational therapists.”
Isbell, who has taught occupational therapy at Milligan since 1998, was the catalyst behind bringing the Kids Like You & Me exhibit to Johnson City.
“Several years ago, I took my two daughters to the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, and we saw the exhibit there,” Isbell said. “My girls loved it and thought it was the most wonderful thing.”
Isbell made an appointment with Patterson and inquired about the possibility of bringing the exhibit to Hands On! Regional Museum. Because Hands On! and Creative Discovery are both in the Science Alliance of Tennessee, Patterson was able to get Kids Like You & Me on loan from Creative Discovery.
“This was the first time the exhibit had traveled,” Patterson said. “While it was here, it exceeded our expectations and attendance projections. I even requested to extend its stay another month.”
Patterson was pleased the exhibit impacted the community and the Milligan students who researched its effectiveness.
“We have had Milligan students volunteer here in the past,” said Patterson. “But as a hands-on museum, this is truly the first hands-on research project we have provided for college students.”
Occupational therapy is a growing field and one of the top secure professions of the next decade, according to a recent report. Milligan’s MSOT program prepares students with critical thinking and clinical skills to assume leadership roles in clinical practice, administration, research and education.
To learn more about the Master of Science in occupational therapy program at Milligan, visitwww.milligan.edu/MSOT. To learn more about the Hands On! Museum, visitwww.handsonmuseum.org.