Mars Area Centennial School students are hopping, skipping and jumping along a new Sensory Motor Walk that the school has installed in its upstairs hallways.

The Sensory Walk asks student, instead of just walking down a typical hallway, to hop, jump and tiptoe along a defined pathway of pictures, numbers, letters affixed to the floor and walls. Mars Area School District’s Special Education Department funded the project, which is meant to encourage students to explore new or different sensory experiences and to help to develop motor skills, balance, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness.

“We absolutely encourage the whole school to use it so kids can have sensory motor breaks whether it be if they just need to get up and move or between classes (or) transitioning in the hallway,” says Jessica Kozar, who along with her fellow school occupational therapist, Jennifer Friday, installed the Sensory Walk

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