Meet Valeda: Computer Controlled Health Instructor

You can probably ask any second grader in one of Hinsdale's or Clarendon Hills' elementary schools, "Who is Valeda?" and they'll be able to tell you. One of three in the world, Valeda is a female prototype that is used to teach children about health at the Robert Crown Center for Health Education.

She was made specifically for the Hinsdale Health Museum 53 years ago, which was the first health museum in the United States. The name changed to the Robert Crown Center in 1974. Doctors and scientists took a cast of a 145-pound, 5-foot-7-inch woman from Cologne, Germany. A medical team was used to properly place her organs and the rest of her internal structure. It took five years to finish the model, which was then shipped from Germany and transported by ambulance to the museum.

"Valeda tells a story, and we use her for elementary school children to learn about the human body, how the organs work together as systems to help us digest out food, to understand the world that we live in and make decisions, to filter poisons out of our body and all of the major organs," said Andy Wentling, senior health educator at the center.

"We use Valeda more for our first through fourth grade level. With first grade, at first they look and are a little scared of her. They don't understand what is going to happen, but then she starts to talk and think she is the neatest thing on the planet," said Laura Beth Rogers, operations manager for the Robert Crown Center. Rogers said it was actually children who named Valeda. The center held a contest to name the model, and the name Valeda, which means "strong" was chosen.

There are two large screens on either side of Valeda that show photos of the different organs as Valeda talks about them and the organs light up within her. The screens show all sides of the organs and give the kids a better idea of what the organs look like. Valeda is on a turntable, so she turns in order to give a full view of all her organs.

The center updated Valeda's script over the summer to make it more relevant. For the first through fourth grade level, she offers a more interactive talk for younger children. "She actually says, 'put your hands on your head,' and so the students actually follow along with her." Rogers said. For fourth through adult level classes, the program delves into more detail about the body systems.

Rogers said classes come to see Valeda year after year, and receive a different script for each grade level.

"With the Hinsdale kids and also the Clarendon Hills kids, it is very common that they would come for our first grade 'Healthland,' second grade 'Body Club' program, third grade 'Health Adventure' and fourth grade 'Incredible Machine' programs."

Valeda is now completely controlled by computer. Spanish language also was added to the script during the summer update, with full scripts for Spanish speaking groups. The two other "Valedas" in the world are located in Kansas and Ohio.

The Robert Crown Center for Health Education is located at 21 Salt Creek Lane in Hinsdale. Reservations can be made by calling 630-325-1900. The cost is $5 per student at the center or $7 per student if the center staff travel to a school to make a presentation.