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Contact (UPMC Health Plan): Gina Pferdehirt |
 Bill Schlageter |
PITTSBURGH (June 19, 2014) – The second annual We Can! Day at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is sponsored by UPMC Health Plan and will serve as the official launch date for UPMC Health Plan's Dining Smart Community, a new program at the museum's Big Red Room Café which helps visitors make healthy food choices. We Can! Day also coincides with the National Wildlife Federation's Great American Backyard Campout, guaranteeing an outdoor day of fun activities for children of all ages on Pittsburgh's North Side.
On Saturday, June 28, 2014, families who visit the museum will be able to create unique art pieces using charcoal and other outdoor materials, enjoy hearing traditional campfire stories and singing songs led by museum staff, participate in a "Melon Roll" race in Buhl Community Park, and more. These activities will be held during the regular museum hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To celebrate the launch of Dining Smart Community, UPMC Health Plan partner and former Pittsburgh Steeler, Charlie Batch, will be at the museum starting at 10:15 a.m. A longtime advocate of health and wellness, Charlie will briefly speak to families about the importance of forming healthy habits at an early age. He will also participate in some of the We Can! Day activities.
Dining Smart Community is part of UPMC Health Plan Dining Smart program. Developed with input from medical and dietary professionals at UPMC Health Plan, this proven worksite nutrition program has been used at UPMC facilities for nearly a decade. Dining Smart emphasizes a number of nutritional standards and highlights foods that have fewer calories, less fat, and lower levels of sodium and cholesterol, and those that are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. UPMC Health Plan worked with the Big Red Room Café to assess its menu offerings, give recommendations for making healthy food items more visible, provide tools and resources for visitor and staff nutrition education, and help to benchmark and set goals. The Children's Museum is the first of UPMC Health Plan's community partners to implement Dining Smart Community.
"We know that daily, small improvements in eating are often the first steps to creating a long-term lifestyle change that can prevent chronic disease," said Marc Manley, MD, Vice President, Population Health Management, at UPMC Health Plan. "Our hope is that visitors to the Children's Museum will become more knowledgeable about the foods they eat and feel empowered to make healthier choices."
Healthy, "camp-themed" foods and fresh-squeezed, low-calorie lemonade will be available for purchase at the Big Red Room Café and at a grill station on the steps outside of the entrance to the museum.
"The Museum is proud to have UPMC Health Plan as a long-time We Can! partner. Each month, we feature events, performances, and experiences with a nutrition, exercise, or health component as part of our We Can! initiatives," said Bill Schlageter, Director of Marketing at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. "Children and families look forward to these activities each month. We are thrilled to host the second annual We Can! Day this year and look forward to a day of healthy and active play!"
We Can! Day is open to the public and museum admission is required to attend. For questions about any of the activities on We Can! Day, contact the Children's Museum at 412-322-5058 or hi@pittsburghkids.org.
We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) is a national movement developed by the National Institutes of Health that helps children ages 8-13 maintain a healthy weight by through activities and programs that encourage improved nutritional choices, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time (TV, computers, and video games).
The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and UPMC Health Plan have been working together to bring quality We Can! programming to families since 2010. UPMC Health Plan provides the Children's Museum with funding, educational materials and curricula, and health expertise for its We Can! programs. Learn more about We Can! at the Children's Museum by visiting https://pittsburghkids.org/visit/healthychoices.
UPMC Health Plan is a corporate partner of We Can! and spearheaded the We Can! Pittsburgh initiative in 2007. In addition to the Children's Museum, We Can! Pittsburgh includes other prominent Pittsburgh-based organizations as key partners: ASSET (Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching), the City of Pittsburgh, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Children's Community Pediatrics, the Senator John Heinz History Center, and Wesley Spectrum Services.
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About UPMC Health Plan
UPMC Health Plan, the second-largest health insurer in western Pennsylvania, is owned by UPMC, an integrated global health enterprise. The integrated partner companies of the UPMC Insurance Services Division – which includes UPMC Health Plan, UPMC WorkPartners, LifeSolutions (EAP), UPMC for You (Medical Assistance), and Community Care Behavioral Health – offer a full range of group health insurance, Medicare, Special Needs, CHIP, Medical Assistance, behavioral health, employee assistance, and workers' compensation products and services to nearly 2.3 million members. Our local provider network includes UPMC as well as community providers, totaling more than 125 hospitals and more than 11,500 physicians throughout Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. For more information, visit www.upmchealthplan.com.
About Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Founded on June 12, 1983 by the Junior League of Pittsburgh, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh opened with less than 5,000 square feet of exhibit space in the basement of the historic Allegheny Post Office building. In 2004 the Museum expanded to occupy 80,000 square feet in its newly built, award-winning three-story 'Lantern' building, connecting two historic buildings: the Allegheny Post Office Building (c. 1898) and the Buhl Building (c. 1939). In 2006 the Museum became a certified green building (Silver LEED) and was honored by the American Institute for Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Museum received the Rudy Bruner Award Goal Medal for Urban Excellence as America's Top Urban Place in 2007 and in 2009 won the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Medal for Museum and Library Services.
Named one of the nation's ten top children's museums by Parents magazine in 2011, Children's Museum Pittsburgh is on track to welcome 270,000 visitors in 2014. Hands-on, interactive exhibit areas include "The Studio," "Theater," "Nursery" and "Backyard," among others. In October 2011 the museum opened "MAKESHOP ®" — an exhibit space where kids and adults can access real tools, processes and digital, physical materials to build and tinker and create exciting projects and cutting-edge media. "Waterplay", the museum's newest permanent exhibit opened in April 2013.
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is open Monday–Sunday from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Admission is $13 for adults, $12 for children 2-18 and senior citizens. Children under two are free. The Museum is located on the North Side at 10 Children's Way, Allegheny Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
For more information, please call (412) 322-5058 or visit the Museum website www.pittsburghkids.org.