ED HACKLEY DESIGN

Opened to the public in April 2004, the new Marian Koshland Science Museum uses engaging, interactive exhibits to bring to life the numerous reports conducted by the prestigious National Academies every year. The museum program requires each exhibit be designed to travel, allowing the "Koshland's" exhibits to be shared with other institutions and to rotate in new exhibits on current Academies reports.

Infectious Disease

Get an in-depth view of the viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that surround us, the deadly diseases they can cause, and the scientific challenges involved in targeting them.

Exhibits:

. First, investigate the extremely rapid reproduction and mutation rates of microorganisms, which can go through thousands or even more than a million generations for every human generation.

. Next, see just how prevalent microbes and parasites are in our bodies and our environment. Can You Find What Causes Infectious Disease? explores the wide range of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that make their homes in our bodies.

. Now take the Global View of infectious diseases. Interactive kiosks explore the distribution of major infectious disease, such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and cholera, throughout the world. Examine which countries are hardest hit by diseases, the distribution of which can be correlated with factors such as population growth and poverty.

. More than one billion people worldwide still lack access to clean water and basic sanitation. Protecting Health graphs how improvements in basic infrastructure, such as clean water, good sanitation practices, and nutrition, have dramatically improved public health in the United States, along with the widespread use of vaccines and the introduction of antibiotics.

. Explore how vaccines give people immunity to specific infectious diseases, and how drops in vaccination rates can lead to disease outbreaks.

. At Can We Predict How an Epidemic Will Spread?, use a computer model to try your hand at predicting the course of measles or influenza outbreaks based on different vaccination rates. Learn how vaccines eradicated smallpox, a deadly disease that killed approximately 300 million people in the 20th century alone.

. Discover how drug-resistant bacteria are emerging and how misusing antibiotics can accelerate this process. See first-hand the difficult and challenging process of developing and testing antibiotics.

. View videos on antiretroviral drugs and controlling this pandemic, which has evolved into one of the biggest global health crises, especially in the poorest regions of the world.

. An interactive exhibit allows visitors to explore the effectiveness of various malaria infection control measures, such as bed nets to protect against bites, indoor spraying, and antimalarial drugs.