Exercise is important for keeping our bodies and minds healthy, but our bodies and brains can get used to repetitive exercise, making them less effective for building muscle or keeping our brains sharp. Agility is our ability to move, think, or understand quickly. It’s important to build agility in our bodies and our brains. Keeping agile helps build our speed, balance, and coordination when doing physical tasks, and helps us learn and adapt quickly on mental tasks. Our brains and our bodies both need regular exercise to stay flexible and grow strong. For our brains that’s neuroplasticity, the ability our brains have to change, grow, and make new connections. In our bodies, we develop our physical agility and our gross motor skills.

Agility is a learned skill that takes practice to build and maintain. The best athletes in the world still practice their agility by engaging in varied, or different, exercises that activate different muscle groups and keep their brains sharp. Our gross motor skills are our ability to do tasks that involve our big muscle groups like our legs, torso, or arms. Developing and sharpening our gross motor skills helps us move through the world, react quickly, and stay balanced. Our brains and our bodies are so intertwined, that moving our bodies actually helps us learn and retain information. Learn more about the connection between physical exercise and our brain’s growth and development here.

Moving and trying new challenges, both physically and mentally, help us keep our bodies and minds in top shape. There are lots of exercises designed to help us build agility, and lots of puzzles to help us keep our brains sharp. But can you think of a way to combine physical challenges with mental ones?

Challenge your brain by designing and building a way to keep both our bodies and our minds in top physical shape. Ask yourself:

• How can I use my surroundings to build a challenge?
• How will I challenge both my body and my mind?
• Will my design involve many different parts?
• What equipment will I need? Can I build it myself?

Need more inspiration? Check out these simple hand exercises that also give your brain a workout!

Once you have a design, you’re ready to build!

If your challenge involves exercise equipment there are lots of things you can build at home using materials you have on hand. You can make a jump rope out of recycled t-shirts or plastic bags, training cones out of cardstock, or an agility ladder using duct tape and stirring sticks. Use your imagination to give new life to other items in your home!

Share your creation – whatever it is – with socialmedia@kid-museum.org for a chance to be featured on KID Museum’s website or social media. Be sure to include your name, age, and details about your creation.