The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and Science Museum Group, London have joined hands to launch an international exhibition ‘Hunt for the Vaccine’ on wheels which will tour five venues in India to tell the story of the global effort in developing vaccines to curb the pandemic.
The tour includes four metro cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The exhibition is expected to reach out to more than 2 million people from November 2022 to September 2025. The exhibition has been made possible with support from a global charitable foundation, Wellcome.
The exhibition will tell the story of the global effort to find new ways to develop vaccines and look at vaccinations more broadly with a historical and contemporary view. The exhibition will set out the scientific principles underlying a vaccine’s creation and efficacy, while capturing behind-the-scenes work that accompanies their rapid development, production, transport, and delivery.
The Science Museum Group’s Acting Director and Chief Executive Jonathan New by said, “The pandemic has provided a compelling reminder of how science and ingenuity is central to people’s lives and created an extraordinary opportunity to engage a global audience. We are excited to continue our on-going partnership with the NCSM to develop this new exhibition about the global hunt for an effective vaccine.” He also added, “The story has countless heroes, from the research scientists in labs, to the engineers and technicians ensuring vaccine delivery, and the thousands who volunteered to be a part of clinical trials – and we look forward to working with the NCSM to tell their stories on a global scale.”
Director General of the NCSM, Arijit Dutta Choudhury, said, “After the grand success of the exhibition ‘Super bugs: The End of Antibiotics?’ this is another project where we have collaborated with the SMG group, London for raising awareness among masses about the importance of vaccines in our lives. Due to Corona pandemic, it will be very much relevant in India. This time we have added one Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE) Bus to travel to the nearby areas of each location.”
“The MSE Bus will mainly communicate the messages of the exhibition in rural areas. At the same time, I hope, the project will further strengthen the bond between the two leading Science Museums network in India and UK,”Dutta Choudhury added.
“The new exhibition with some local specific content will also showcase the efforts made by India during the COVID-19 pandemic period. It will also highlight the global issue through a series of programme and events, digital and learning resources etc. for enhanced public engagement and understanding of the vaccines,” said S. Kumar, Director (HQ), NCSM and Head and Coordinator of the project in India.The exhibition is scheduled to be inaugurated in November 2022 at Delhi and from there it will travel to five other venues across India including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
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