Having PhUn in Australia While on Summer Vacation

When planning our family vacation to visit relatives in Australia, I looked into the opportunity to perform a PhUn Week activity there. PhUn Week is an annual outreach program in which K‐12 students get to learn about physiology through meeting a physiologist and performing an experiment. My cousin put me in touch with a teacher in a private parochial school that combines 3 rd and 4 th grade classes, and I taught two back‐to‐back sessions. I started by asking: “Does anyone know what a physiologist is?” Finding from one eager student that “physiologist” is confused with “physicist,” I went on to describe what a physiologist is, and then how the heart works, and then the lungs, and finally how the two organ systems work together. The students had recently done a unit on Scientific Method, and together we designed a hypothesis – “Exercise increases heart rate” – and a testing method in which students would measure their heart rates, run for 3 minutes, and measure their heart rates again. To ensure a steady exercise pace when we performed our experiment, I had my sons there to help – one advantage of being on a family vacation. Instructions to the class were, “Do not pass older son in front or fall behind younger son.” After data collection, students readily shared their results and concluded that they had proved their hypothesis. I then explained why the heart rate should increase during and after exercise. We also discussed healthy eating and why being active is beneficial. The experience was clearly effective and well worth the time away from the usual vacation activities. PhUn Week forms partnerships among educators and inspires K‐12 students to think about becoming scientists. I urge other physiologists to incorporate a little PhUn in their next vacation.