🔬 Discovery Sparks- The Science of Heartbeats!

Erica Benjamin
4 days ago
2 min read

Today we're discovering something AMAZING about your body...

❤️ Your heart is working ALL the TIME—even when you're sleeping!

Every beat helps move blood around your body, carrying oxygen and nutrients to every single part of you.

🧠 Think About This...

Put your hand on your chest.

Can you feel something?

Thump... Thump... Thump...

That's your heart!

Now try this:

🏃 Jump up and down 10 times.

Stop.

Put your hand back on your chest.

👉 What changed?

❤️ What Is a Heartbeat?

Your heart is a powerful muscle that pumps blood through your body.

When you're resting...

❤️ It beats slower.

When you're running or playing...

❤️❤️❤️ It beats faster!

That's because your muscles need more oxygen to keep moving.

🩺 Real-World Connection

People like Nurse Janelle, a NICU nurse, use science every day to care for tiny babies.

She listens carefully to each baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope.

She also checks their breathing, temperature, and other important clues to make sure they're growing stronger every day.

Sometimes babies are so tiny that even small changes can tell nurses something important!

🔬 Today's Discovery Activity:

Listen to Your Heart!

You'll need:

❤️ Your fingers

❤️ A stopwatch or timer (optional)

Sit quietly for one minute.
Place two fingers on your wrist or neck.
Count how many beats you feel in 15 seconds.
Multiply that number by 4.

That's about how many times your heart beats in one minute!

Now...

🏃 Run in place for 30 seconds.

Count again!

👉 What happened?

🧠 What's Happening?

When your body works harder...

❤️ Your heart pumps faster.

Why?

Because your muscles need more oxygen and nutrients to keep moving!

Your heart works like a super-fast delivery system.

💡 Why Does This Matter?

NICU nurses care for babies who need extra help growing strong.

By listening to their hearts and checking their vital signs, nurses can tell if a baby is healthy—or if they need more care.

Science helps nurses understand what our bodies are telling them.

🎯 Tiny Sparks Question

What activities make YOUR heart beat faster?

🏃 Running?

🚲 Riding your bike?

💃 Dancing?

😂 Laughing?

🤯 Fun Fact

An adult heart beats about 60–100 times every minute.

A newborn baby's heart beats much faster—often 120–160 times every minute! That's because babies are growing so quickly!

✨ Big Idea

Your heart never takes a day off.

Thanks to science, nurses can listen, measure, and understand what your heart is saying—helping even the tiniest babies grow stronger every day.

🩺 Science helps us care for others.

Print the coloring page, grab your crayons, then complete the Heartbeat Check activity to discover how your heart changes when you move!