Motivating Exercise through Fun

Had to share this one with you. This group, theFunTheory.com, believes that we can get more people to exercise if we make it fun to do it. In this video, filmed at the Odenplan metro station in Stockholm, Sweden, the group has placed musical "plates" on the stairs so that when people walk up and down the stairs, it will play like a piano.

2 out of 3 people decided to take the stairs with this added incentive. Some just ran up the stairs in sequence but some used the stairs to play music. I would have done the later. What would you have done?

theFunTheory.com is an organization funded by Volkswagen that is based upon the theory that making things fun can be used to change people's behavior for the better. They have a number of videos showing examples including:

• Turning a recycling Bottle Bank into an arcade game.
• Adding sound effects to a trash can so it sounds like things are falling along way.

There are only 3 examples on their website so far, but I am sure that more will be coming soon.

What forms of motivation have you used/seen to encourage exercise?

Share them with us.

Z

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The Story of Stuff

Here is an interesting video about using STUFF. Annie Leonard presents a 20-minute expose about the connections between environmental and social issues. This is a blunt realistic description of how our out-of-control consumption cycle is destroying our environment and globe.

Ms. Leonard uses an effective integration of animation and real world statistics to explain the integration of the 5 stages of Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption and Disposal.

I learned a great deal watching this video. I knew something about the consumption cycle and am an avid recycler. This video demonstrated the importance of finding and using a new way to consume, preserve, conserve and recycle. Did you know that 99% of the things we purchase are trashed in 6 months.

Annie Leonard is an American critic of international trade, development international sustainability and environmental health issues. Her mission is to make us aware of the life-cycle of goods and services.The Story of Stuff is an important video for you AND your students to view. It really makes you think about what you do and how you do it.

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