Dem bones

During the Halloween season, a skeleton is most often a scary thing for children.

But bones are also an important thing for youngsters to know about. That’s the idea behind “Bone Up on Bones,” at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor.

The presentation, aimed at children 5 and older, will be made by Dr. Scott Clough of Norumbega Pediatrics of Bangor, aided by medical assistant Lisa Fowler. (The children will gather at the museum’s Head Down Baseball Diamond.)

The hour-long presentation will answer such questions as are bones alive, how do doctors help when bones break, and how do bones heal.

“Healthy bones are important to do all the things that kids like to do,” Clough explained. “I’ll talk about how doctors assess bones, in general try to give them a better understanding of why bones are important, how to keep bones healthy, and what can happen if you don’t. We want to let the kids dictate what we talk about. We want them to generate the discussion.”

Clough doesn’t expect that he’ll have an actual skeleton with which to work. Instead, he’ll display X-rays on a view box, and use Fowler as a live model.

Andrea Stark, the museum’s director of education and exhibits, explained that many of this month’s activities play off of Halloween, but “Bone Up on Bones” is part of an ongoing theme at the museum.

“We have a continuing interest in promoting good health in children,” Stark added.

Clough said that education is a part of every office visit. So when museum officials came looking for a lecturer on bones, he volunteered, even though it will be his first public talk.

“I love to teach,” he said. “It’s a nice opportunity to get out there, and share knowledge with people I wouldn’t see otherwise, and to interact with healthy kids, which I always enjoy.”

For more information, call the Maine Discovery Museum at 262-7200.