Students hopped through hoops and jumped over hurdles in Sertoma Park for their health Thursday.

The obstacle course was part of the Summer Fun and Safety Day. Area students participated in the midway-like activities.

"I liked the obstacle course," Moses Elementary School third-grader Jessica Duttenhefner said.

She went through the booths with classmate Bailee McEvers and her mother Kathy Duttenhefner was a field trip chaperone.

"I learned that stretching is important,"Bailee said.

They tried different stretches at the booth from the University of North Dakota Center for Family Medicine. A doctor listened to their hearts with a stethoscope, then they learned about ways to exercise without equipment and then ways to stretch.

"It's a chance to experience exercise," said Susan Thompson, who was leading the stretches. "Some don't get enough of it. Some don't like it."

Nearly all the students she saw Thursday followed along to the yoga poses, although she had a few boys who wouldn't do it, she said.

"They love it. They all try it," she said. "Some of them are surprised when they can't do it."

The students also learned a little trivia while hopping on one foot. The world record for hopping on one foot is four hours and seven minutes, nurse Donita Roland said. The students learn about more than their heart health at the fun day, she said.

"Whether it's food and diet or the fire department, it's a place to get a lot of information," she said.

There were booths on weather safety, nutrition, exercise and anti-drugs and anti-smoking.

"I think it's really good. There's a wide variety," Kathy Duttenhefner said. "It gives them awareness about things they don't think about every day."

While the students liked the hands-on booths, she liked the fingerprinting booth and the exhibit on poisons.

"It's all around the house," she said. "Some of it looks nice, like candy."

This is the third year Kathy Duttenhefner has attended the fun day. She has four children, two are twins,and they have all attended. When she first went to the fun day, it was open to more grades and there were longer lines. She likes that the event was scaled back so people can get through the booths, she said.

The fun day was sponsored by St. Alexius Medical Center and Mid Dakota Clinic.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)