East Clinton High School students studying infectious diseases, in conjunction with the Clinton County Health District, will host the Smithsonian’s “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World” exhibition for five days running March 18 to March 22.
The class is a new semester elective for this year and uses STEM principles to investigate and analyze disease transmission, epidemiology and public health protocols. As part of their learning, students worked closely with the Clinton County Health District to design portions of the exhibit that highlight public health concerns that are unique to the community.
The remainder of the exhibition highlights how pathogens can spread to people from wildlife and livestock, why some outbreaks become epidemics and how human, animal and environmental health are connected as “One Health” and is curated and licensed to East Clinton Local District by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The exhibition is a version of a larger exhibit that was on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC until 2021. “Outbreak: Exhibitions in a Connected World” includes several full color information panels, interactive media and 3-D models or viruses and bacteria. The exhibition covers topics such as public health and disease tracking and features pathogens such as rabies and others.
“We want people in all countries and settings to have effective communication tools about infectious diseases and One Health,” said Sabrina Sholts, lead curator of the exhibition and curator in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History. “We see this as an extraordinary opportunity to raise awareness about pandemic risks and make everyone safer in our connected world.”
The exhibit will be open to the general public on Thursday, March 21, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The exhibit will be open to students of East Clinton School District and groups from other surrounding districts from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. from March 18 until March 22. Admission is free. Reservations for large groups are recommended.
Please email [email protected] to make arrangements for your group to come experience “Outbreak.” More than 100 venues in over 30 countries have displayed “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World,” including universities, libraries, hospitals, airports, embassies, community centers and museums. It is available in multiple languages, including French, Spanish, modern Arabic and simplified and traditional Chinese.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is one of the most-visited natural history museums in the world. “Outbreak” opened at the museum May 18, 2018, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic, and remained on view until 2021.
