Anatomy Academy (AA) is a novel project aimed at providing elementary school students a unique learning experience of the human body while nurturing their scientific curiosity in small group sessions. Each organ system‐based session was led by a pair of medical and undergraduate students who led interactive discussions using anatomy organ models and hands‐on activities to present applicable scientific concepts. For medical students, this provided a unique opportunity to demonstrate and deliver anatomy and physiology concepts learned through lecture and laboratory in the pre‐clinical medical school curriculum. In contrast to the passive, memory‐based education acquired from lectures and textbooks, teaching served as an effective resource for active learning that was reliant on deeper, intelligent understanding and creativity. As future physicians, medical students also benefitted from acquiring skills necessary to lead successful teams and communicate effectively with individuals of a broader range of educational backgrounds. Both mentors and mentees benefitted from AA.Grant Funding Source: The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and the UCLA Monica Salinas Fellowship

Typical classroom instruction consisting of a block period style of education often incurs problems with retention and implementation of information by students. In the outreach program Anatomy Academy, students receive holistic health instruction regarding the human body. In this study two sessions of Anatomy Academy were conducted, each executed on different time tables. The first group of students attended a week long session, spending five hours each day at the program. The second group of students was taught the same curriculum for one hour each week for six weeks. While both groups were constructed with the same student‐teacher ratio, students in the second group who were on the block schedule were unable to connect with mentors on the same level as students in the first group. The increased willingness and ability of students in Group One to incorporate mentors’ advice into healthier lifestyle choices can be attributed to 1) the trust developed in the student‐teacher relationship over multiple hours of interaction; and 2) an excitement and incentive for retaining information. The integrative approach of AA speaks to the success of immersion‐style teaching in classroom settings in encouraging students to retain and actualize information beyond just the day of instruction.Grant Funding Source: AAA

Anatomy Academy (AA) is an educational intervention program to fight obesity and promote both healthy lifestyles and interest in science in children, through the teaching of basic anatomy and physiology to 5th and 6th grade students in didactic small group and physical activities. AA's potential to cultivate lifestyle change children at the community, state, and national levels is only as effective as its scalability. We report the successful adaption of AA from Stella Middle Charter Academy (Los Angeles, CA) to Salt Lake Arts Academy (Salt Lake City, UT). Volunteer undergraduate and graduate students from UCLA, BYU, and University of Utah Medical School provide great service to their communities while gaining invaluable mentoring experience. AA provides a uniting curriculum and structure, with the flexibility for adaptation to individual site's needs, allowing for creativity to flourish from both students and mentors. Communication via social media has allowed sharing of ideas and experiences across sites. With 5 additional schools in Salt Lake and Utah Counties adopting AA in 2013, including several Title 1 schools, AA is making significant progress to fight obesity one community at a time.Grant Funding Source: The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and the UCLA Monica Salinas Fellowship

Anatomy Academy (AA) demonstrates the need for anatomy medical education to engage, motivate, and support mentorship that reinforces medical education, provides pre‐medical support, and promotes scientific knowledge and healthy lifestyles. AA pairs medical students with undergraduate and elementary school students in a curriculum consisting of anatomy, physiology, health education, and physical activity to supplement the California 5th grade PE standards. Each team consists of one medical, one undergraduate, and 5–6 5th grade students. Medical and undergraduate students lead the teams in learning followed by physical activity outdoors. Pre‐ and post‐ AA self‐evaluations are conducted to assess knowledge and confidence. Medical and undergraduate students reported feeling more confident in their teaching skills and scientific knowledge. 5th graders responded with higher knowledge scores and interest in science. Medical students enjoyed applying their medical knowledge through teaching and mentoring. Undergraduates found value in being mentored. This curriculum and framework could be utilized in the future to develop mentorship programs among students at different stages in their education. AA was supported by the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and the UCLA Monica Salinas Fellowship.Grant Funding Source: Albert Schweitzer Fellowship; UCLA Monica Salinas Fellowship