Liberty Science Center and the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey are teaming up to help kids get excited about being active and learning about nutrition.

Yesterday LSC and the Horizon Foundation celebrated a new three-year partnership by launching the Horizon Foundation Family Fitness Route. Located onsite at LSC, the route leads families through a series of physical challenges throughout the building, such as the Infinity Climber, Rock Wall, Action Zone, Skyscraper and more.

When families visit LSC, they’ll receive a Horizon Foundation Family Fitness Route activity guide which will be stamped each time they complete a challenge across the route. After successfully completing the route, families will be entered to win a LSC Family Membership.

In a ceremony held at LSC, which was attended by students, teachers, and members of the community, LSC President and CEO Paul Hoffman acknowledged the Science Center’s initiative in getting kids physically active.

“One of the things we try to do here is create experiences that get people involved,” Hoffman said at the event. “We believe in health through play, and we’re very happy that the Horizon Foundation has supported us in this effort.”

At the ceremony, Dr. Minal Patel, the senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Horizon Blue Cross Shield of New Jersey, presented Hoffman with a $300,000 check to support the Horizon Foundation Family Fitness Route.

Dr. Minal Patel, the senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Horizon Blue Cross Shield of New Jersey; LSC CEO and President Paul Hoffman; Jersey City Deputy Mayor Vivian Brady-Phillips; Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti; and Program Officer for the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey Filomena G. Machleder

“This partnership is really exciting, because it will encourage people to get active and get their hearts going,” Dr. Patel said. “But of course, they’re also doing it in a place where they get exposed to all different kinds of exhibits. So they’re learning, they’re getting healthy, and they’re having a good time. There’s very few opportunities where you get all three of those happening together.”

The ceremony was also attended by public officials Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti and Jersey City Deputy Mayor Vivian Brady-Phillips, who praised the Science Center and the Horizon Foundation for helping families realize the accessibility of fitness.

“A lot of times we think we have to go somewhere special to do fitness,” said Brady-Phillips. “Here at Liberty Science Center, they’re engaging kids and helping them learn about science, and at the same time they’re helping them be physically active. So it’s a real learning experience. Fitness can be anywhere and everywhere.”

Paul Hoffman, the president and CEO of LSC, and Dr. Minal Patel, the senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Horizon Blue Cross Shield of New Jersey, with students from Franklin L. Williams Middle School 7 in Jersey City

One of the very first groups to try out the Horizon Foundation Family Fitness Route was a group of students from Franklin L. Williams Middle School 7 in Jersey City.

“It’s really great seeing the students learn about nutrition and exercise, especially with Halloween coming up,” said Stefania McCall, a 7th grade teacher at MS7. “They’re learning, ‘Maybe you should watch your portions’ or ‘Maybe you shouldn’t have so much candy.’ ”

The students also got to participate in LSC’s new Live Science feature called “Heart and Soul,” a 20-minute demonstration on the importance of healthy eating. The experience was created as part of the partnership with the Horizon Foundation.

After the experiment, students Christina, 13, and Cassandra, 12, from MS7 said they learned a lot about nutrition.

“I learned that sugar can be good, but when you indulge too much of it, it can do a lot of harm to your body and your health,” Christina said.

“I’m going to start eating a little healthier than I did before after seeing that experiment,” said Cassandra.

Check out our video recap of the event:

To learn more about the Horizon Foundation Family Fitness Route, click here.