FLOWERY BRANCH — Martin Elementary School in South Hall had a big heart.

Hopefully the generous, loving kind, but also literally — a physical representation of the vital organ in the school’s gymnasium.

Set up as a sort of obstacle course, students got their blood pumping by crawling, scooting and jump-roping their way through the tricuspid valve, right ventricle and aorta.

Physical education teacher Cathy Keefer said she hoped the "Heart Adventure," which ended last week, would help students learn more about how blood flows through their body, but also important ways to maintain a healthy heart.

Keefer had a sign posted in the course that read "Exercise, eat healthy, don’t smoke, have a healthy heart."

"The children learn about going through the four different chambers of the heart, what a valve is," Keefer said. "And they get to experience for themselves being a blood cell traveling to all parts of the body."

Students learned about carbon dioxide and how "we get rid of that, why we go to the lungs to pick up oxygen and how important it is for us to have that oxygen and ... energy to keep moving all day," she said.

Traveling through the course was no piece of cake, either.

Students had to use plenty of physical exertion, including pulling themselves along a rope on their scooters, to get through the course.

"They’ll feel very sore tomorrow," Keefer said.

Lindsey Brock, a fourth-grader, said she enjoyed the challenge.

"It’s a great activity," said the 10-year-old. "It’s a good learning experience. It helps you learn more about the heart and how you should be healthy and eat right."

After completing the course, students could climb on the stage in the gym and browse through various exhibits, including ones giving more information about the flow of blood through the heart.

They also could use a stethoscope to check their heartbeat and a "pulse stick" to check their pulse rate.

Keefer learned about the "Heart Adventure" at a conference 15 years ago.

"This has been something I’ve taken on as a passion of mine so that the children will learn how to keep their heart healthy," she said.

"As we all know, with the obesity level today as well as the latest report about heart disease in females, this is extremely important," said Keefer, Martin’s physical education teacher for the past three years.

"I can only hope that each year a little bit more ... sinks in and that they take it home to mom and dad and that they carry this over, not just to here in P.E., but in everyday life. What I love about the Heart Adventure is that ... they’re doing as they learn."

The school also held, as a separate event, its first Fun Run last week, "which was awesome because they both correlate with having a healthy body."

The Fun Run also served as a fundraiser for the school toward building a track on its upper field.

"It will be available for the community as well," Keefer said.