'Vehicube' gets French students moving

The Grand défi Pierre Lavoie Vehicube will visit eight French language Catholic and public schools in the north this month.

At each school, the Vehicube team will raise student awareness about the benefits and pleasures of physical activity and healthy eating habits.

The Vehicube is a huge, specially-designed bus towing a bike studio. In the front portion of the caravan, students will take a nutrition workshop.

The youngsters will take part in activities centred on four tables with touch screens, 3-D food, an animated version of Pierre as a chef and a cyclist, as well as a grocery basket.

The bike studio, located at the rear of the Vehicube behind the bus, is set out with 14 exercise bicycles, each one featuring a high-tech screen that turns the exercise into a virtual race.

The world of three-dimensional animation will motivate the students to keep pace with the pack of cyclists, a press release from Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l'Ontario said.