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My Meal, My Plate: Teaching Healthy Habits Through Play for Children Aged 5–10
- Program: Center for Leadership Education
- Course: EN.660.346 Multidisciplinary Engineering Design
- Year: 2025
Project Description:
In partnership with Port Discovery Children’s Museum, which welcomes over 265,000 visitors annually, primarily children that age through 2 to 12 years old, our project transforms an underutilized exhibit into an engaging nutritional learning experience. The current signage is outdated, and the space offers great potential for interactivity. Using the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) MyPlate guidelines, our prototype invites children to build a day’s worth of meals on large, colorful plates. As they add food items, they receive real-time feedback on how well their choices align with recommended daily nutritional needs, making healthy eating both engaging and educational.
Project Photo:
This plate illustrates key food categories: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein, and Dairy. When a food item is placed correctly, an indicator board lights up to show its daily value. It’s a fun, interactive way to learn about healthy eating by sorting food items into their appropriate sections on the plate.
