Exhibition Guide for Infectious Disease: Evolving Challenges to Human Health
 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Koshland Science Museum. A visit to the museum is a unique experience. The Koshland Science Museum is not a collection of artifacts. Rather, it presents scientific data and explanations so that visitors can make decisions about vital public policy issues based on the information they acquire.
Your class visit to the museum has been designed to model good learning and teaching practices. Using the Jigsaw method described below, your class will divide into smaller groups that will visit different parts of the museum. Together, the members of the groups will become “experts” as they seek information to share with their classmates during small-group and whole-class discussions. Students will collaborate in thinking about evidence and formulating ideas much like scientists do in their daily work.
Your visit to the museum will last approximately two hours. During that time, your class will study in detail the Infectious Disease: Evolving Challenges to Human Health exhibition. Your class also will spend some time with the museum’s Wonders of Science and Global Warming Facts & Our Future exhibitions. All class visits must be scheduled in advance due to limited space.
The Museum’s Exhibitions
The museum has three exhibitions.
The Wonders of Science exhibition asks, “What’s the Universe made of?” It encourages visitors to think about some of the big unsolved questions in science, fostering creative thinking and a sense of wonder about the universe. All students will visit this exhibition briefly and ponder the questions it poses.
The Infectious Disesase: Evolving Challenges to Human Health exhibition introduces students to microbe, fungus and parasite biology, the evolution of microbes, the role of public health, and to some of the current global issues related to this topic. Issues explored include vaccines, emerging bacterial resistance, current status of HIV worldwide, and controlling malaria. This is the exhibition where your class will focus most of its attention.
The Global Warming Facts & Our Future exhibition uses interactive displays to present evidence about natural climate variability and the effects of human activities on climate. The exhibition also provides tools for visitors to explore the consequences of climate change and potential responses to climate change. This is the exhibition where your class will focus most of its attention.
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