A Navy Medicine Ambassador team kicked off San Antonio Navy Week April 18 with events at the San Antonio Aquarium and a San Antonio Boys and Girls Club.

Hospital Corpsmen joined Navy Medicine physicians, Navy nurses and Medical Service Corps Officers from the San Antonio-based Navy Medicine Education and Training Command, Navy Medicine Training Support Center, and Naval Medical Research Unit - San Antonio to give children a hands-on look at science and medicine.

"We set up displays to reach out to the next generation coming up behind us," said Lt. Cmdr. Emily Owens, an NMTSC preventive medicine instructor at the Medical Education and Training Campus at Joint Base San Antonio - Fort Sam Houston. "It's great to show what we do, especially the science. Science is really important, and it's important for the children to be excited about science. I think it's a great opportunity to share with the community."

Hosted by the Navy Office of Community Outreach, the Navy Week program gives Navy Medicine Sailors an opportunity to raise public awareness of the Navy Medicine mission while giving back to the community. Navy Medicine participates in select Navy Weeks that are typically held in locations away from the coasts and fleet concentrated areas like Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego, California.

Owens and her team set up one a dozen Navy Medicine displays at the aquarium and later in the day at the Boys and Girls Club. Her table of bug samples and artificial snakes was a magnet for children as she shared the basics of entomological science and its importance to the Navy and medicine.

Another medical display was provided by the NMTSC pharmacy instructors from the METC, where they told children about the behind-the-scenes work of a pharmacist and even walked the children through filling a prescription using prescription bottles and little candies.

"The kids really enjoyed it," said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Matthew Sandlin. "I think we were the only ones with an edible display."

San Antonio Navy Week is being celebrated in a city often referred to as "Military City, USA" in conjunction with Fiesta San Antonio, a cultural celebration with a strong military participation. Fiesta began in 1925 with the Pilgrimage to the Alamo in honor of the defenders of the Alamo who lost their lives in March 1836. It has been held every year since and has grown into today's 10-day celebration, making it the nation's third largest event of its type behind Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the Rose Festival in California.

San Antonio is home to Hospital Corps "A" and "C" schools co-located with the Army and Air Force at the METC.

Other Sailors participating in Navy Week and Fiesta are visiting from the USS Constitution and USS City of Corpus Christi, and locally from Navy Recruiting District San Antonio, Navy Operational Support Center Texas, the Navy Technical Training Center Lackland (Master At Arms 'A' School) and Navy Information Operations Command, Texas. Navy Medicine is joining these commands in multiple community outreach events, visits to local schools and the Children's Hospital of San Antonio, participation in a Habitat for Humanity build, and a multitude of Fiesta activities across the city.

NMETC manages Navy Medicine's logistic and enlisted and officer education and training programs, medical operational training for medical and medical support personnel deploying worldwide. NMETC is part of the Navy Medicine team, a global health care network of Navy medical professionals around the world who provide high-quality health care to eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support on the sea aboard ships, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.

For more news from Navy Medicine Education and Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/