ST. LOUIS (September 6, 2002) - St. Louis Children's Hospital (SLCH) and Paradowski Graphic Design recently joined forces in the creation of Children's Safety Street, a program that teaches children to navigate safely through their neighborhoods to reduce fatalities and injuries related to motor vehicles and other urban experiences that challenge young children.
"Child pedestrian injuries and fatalities occur in communities nationally in alarming numbers but most are preventable," said Kelly Klasek, outreach programs coordinator for St. Louis Children's Hospital. "We researched programs designed to educate children throughout the country, considered the opportunities, limitations and specific pedestrian issues within the communities they were involved, and came up with Children's Safety Street.'
The program targets kindergartners through second-graders, combining a classroom lesson plan with an interactive, scale-sized cityscape that is visually appealing and entices children to participate in learning.
The classroom curriculum consists of four key components: (1) pedestrian safety, (2) pediacycle safety, (3) stranger danger and (4) passenger safety. In the interactive pedestrian safety component, children demonstrate the ability to: walk across the street at the corner looking left - right - left; stop, look and listen to their environment; identify and obey traffic signs and signals; and react to stray dogs and strangers.
Paradowski worked closely with St. Louis Children's Hospital to develop a model of the "street" and later design and create the actual "Safety Street".
"All of the realistic details in the Safety Street design really stand out - the simulated neighborhood including the reverse lights on the car; synchronized traffic lights; railroad crossing arm and MetroLink; and sounds such as the voice of the stranger as the children go by and sirens on the ambulance; as well as real pictures of homes in their neighborhood enlarged to the size of the buildings," Klasek adds.
SLCH has received positive feedback from visitors of all ages.
"The initial 'wow-factor' is impressive to see on the faces of children and adults alike. The simulated neighborhood and its activities possess many of the same signals and interactions they encounter in their own neighborhoods," Klasek explains. "This keeps children engaged while they learn the safety messages."
There is currently discussion about developing a structure even larger than the current 26' x 69' development. "There is always a need to bring children in higher grades onto Safety Street so we will continue grow the program in that direction," Klasek explains.
Children's Hospital offers the program through partnerships with community or public service agencies, neighborhoods and schools.
St. Louis Children's Hospital has provided specialized care for children for more than 120 years. St. Louis Children's Hospital is affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine, one of the top five medical schools in the country. Washington University is known for providing excellence in medical research, teaching and patient care. St. Louis Children's Hospital also is a member of BJC HealthCare, the first fully integrated healthcare system in the country to join an academic medical center with suburban, rural and metropolitan-based health-care facilities. For more information about St. Louis Children's Hospital, log on to www.stlouischildrens.org.
Paradowski Graphic Design, Inc. provides clients with a strategic approach to visual communications that culminates in results-oriented communication tools, including corporate identity, brochures, web sites, annual reports and other publications. For more information on Paradowski Graphic Design and its services, call 314-241-2150 or visit www.paradowski.com.