Yesterday my 11-year-old son Jon went on a field trip to see Slim Goodbody’s “Bodyology.” It’s a traveling stage show that uses music, movement, fanciful props, and a large rear screen projection unit to help kids understand how their bodies work while inspiring them to be the best they can be. While it’s correlated to state health education standards for grades K-4, children up to age 12 (and their parents) say they enjoy the show. (Maybe you remember seeing Slim Goodbody on TV during the 1970’s. It’s still the same guy, too – only he doesn’t have the big Afro hairdo anymore!) Another neat thing was, the show’s location was in the Orpheum Theatre which is a wonderful field trip destination in itself. Here is how Jon describes his experience:
“When we got to the theater, it was packed with school kids. There were only a few other homeschoolers. We had to wait and when we finally got in, we were able to sit in the balcony. We watched the play. There was this guy dressed up in a body suit. He said his name was Slim Goodbody. He talked about the brain, the heart, the lungs, the liver, the nerves, the diaphragm, the stomach and digestive system. He said that your body is made up of millions of different cells. He talked about how many bones we have. He showed a picture of a real heart. He showed what can happen to your lungs if you smoke. He showed how the smaller the person, the faster the heartbeat and the larger the person, the slower the heartbeat. He sung songs about the body. We practiced singing “Lubba Dubba.” He had some kids come up and do tricks to show what their muscles can do. He also had some teachers come up and do tricks to get a DVD of his shows. The Orpheum Theatre was like a big fancy castle filled with treasure. It had cushioned seats, a spiral staircase, brass decorations, and faces carved in the walls. There was a sky painted on the ceiling, and there was a painting of a desert on the wall. Where they had the show, they had lights that looked like clouds moving.”
Jon wasn’t exaggerating in his description of the theatre’s castle-like appearance. The Orpheum is the last remaining example of “theatre palace” architecture in
