Building Body and Mind: RBR Installs Media Center Bike Desks

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LITTLE SILVER – In the fight against obesity that challenges America and its children, every little weapon in the arsenal helps.
So, when Red Bank Regional (RBR) High School Media Specialist Kathy Smith considered her budget for furniture last year, she had a “eureka” moment. Because students use the media center every day for research, classes or for a gym exemption, she thought, “Why not introduce them to movement?

“And when I researched the desk bikes,” she said, “I learned that I could get five for the same price as two library chairs!”
In the fall, five exercise-bike desks arrived in the media center to some curiosity and skepticism.
“When I first saw them I asked, ‘What is a bike doing in the library?’” senior Ryan Grant said.
Grant’s feelings were common.
“People thought I was going to turn the media center into a gym, but the feedback has been very positive,” Smith said.
She recalls the first student who used the bike desk exclaimed, “I did my math homework and 5 miles all before the end of first block.”
As for Grant, he is now a regular bike-desk customer. “It really helps me focus on my work,” he said.
The student body is now requesting that the school district add more bike desks to the library.