National Backpack Awareness Day

Annually, students from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center's Occupational Therapy Program participate in Backpack Awareness Day in public schools across Brooklyn. After teaching children the tenets of safe backpack use by using fun and interactive trivia, games, and skits, occupational therapy students hold a backpack weigh-in to determine if each student's backpack meets weight guidelines.

This local effort is part of National School Backpack Awareness Day events sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy Association and held around the country, to educate children, parents, teachers, and communities about the serious health effects from backpacks that are too heavy or worn improperly.

For more information, visit the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) National School Backpack Awareness Day web site.