Peanuts, Popcorn, and Pediatrics: School-Based Carnival for Health Promotion

A carnival themed health fair was designed to enhance a pediatric clinical experience through service learning in an undergraduate Associate degree nursing program. The goal of this pilot was to foster pediatric health promotion by connecting nursing students with elementary students classified as a vulnerable population. Senior nursing students created, designed, and implemented an interactive learning activity for 225 children. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory was the framework utilized for project organization and development. Nursing faculty guided students in identifying issues specific to contemporary pediatric health concepts, but creative and artistic control was given to the student. Students utilized a web-based learning platform to document the journey for the project from inception to informal evaluation. Students achieved pediatric course and program outcomes by working collaboratively with the community in an innovative format. This school-based carnival offers a valued contribution for collaborative connections utilizing innovation and creative methods. (C) 2021 Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.