It’s nearly time for WA's biggest fundraising event of the year!
As one of Telethon’s long-standing beneficiaries, we are proud to once again be taking part in Telethon Weekend on 25 and 26 October at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. We love meeting kids and families and are excited to have a chance to show you how hard our researchers are working to make a difference to children’s lives.
Last year’s Telethon raised more than $38 million for child health research and the services which support sick and disadvantaged children in Western Australia. As one of over 50 beneficiaries, the funding we receive from Telethon supports many of our life-changing research programs – so let’s make this year the biggest yet!
Here’s what to look out for at Telethon 2019.
Come down to the The Kids booth at the convention centre!
The The Kids booth will be back for another year at the beneficiaries expo in the Perth Convention Centre from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s what we have in store.
Ear Explorers
This year at the The Kids booth, children will have the opportunity to become ‘Ear Explorers’, joining our researchers for a journey inside the ear as part a real-life research project. Kids will get a first-hand look inside their own ear by helping to test out the latest diagnostic video technology. They’ll also go on an adventure to learn about the ‘jungle of germs’ living inside their ears.
The mysterious microbiome
Drop by The ORIGINS Project booth to learn about the mysterious microbiome and how it helps keep our bodies healthy. There will be sensory activities for young children to discover ‘healthy bugs’, and they can make their own microbiome and pick up some fun freebies all about connecting with nature.
The ORIGINS Project is a collaboration between The Kids and the Joondalup Health Campus. It will follow the progress of 10,000 babies and their families over the next decade, collecting detailed information on how a child’s early environment and parents’ physical health and genetics influence the risk of a wide range of diseases and conditions.
Launch of the Bright Tomorrow’s parenting app
As babies grow, more than a million neural connections are built every second. The Bright Tomorrows app gives parents and carers the tools they need to help build and develop their children into healthy, happy kids.
Join us at Telethon for the launch of the app, developed to give parents tailored activities - called ‘meaningful moments’ - to help them give kids the best start in life and develop their own skills at the same time. You could also get to meet Bobbie, the loveable blue creature that represents a baby’s developing brain.
The Bright Tomorrows app has been developed by health experts from CoLab – Collaborate for Kids, a partnership between The Kids Research Institute Australia and the Minderoo Foundation.
The Discovery Centre
Now that the school holidays are over, Sunday 27 October is your chance to head to the The Kids Discovery Centre and see what science can do. The Centre will be open for budding young scientists to explore the human body with an X-ray, get up close to the skin, ears and mouth with a microscope and see if they can catch allergens in the airways with our interactive game.
The Discovery Centre is located at Perth Children’s Hospital and will be open from 10am to 3pm on Sunday.
Catch us in the news
In the lead up to Telethon – as well as over the weekend – The Kids will be featured on 7 News, The West and in various stories airing during the Telethon broadcast. You can also catch our Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis on the Telethon panel at midday on Sunday.