Massachusetts Science Museum opens vaccine exhibition

Worcester, MA (AP) – The Massachusetts Museum of Science has opened an exhibit on a hot topic: vaccines.

Officials at the EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature in Worcester hope the exhibit that opened this week will play a role in educating visitors about COVID-19 and other vaccines. The Telegram & Gazette Informó.

Vaccine Project: Our Best Defense It also highlights the work of those who participated in the vaccination campaign.

The exhibit includes interactive videos with medical professionals explaining what vaccines are, as well as a clip explaining the role that truck drivers, nurses, community organizers and clinical officials played in the vaccination effort.

Another video with haptic models explaining five different types of vaccines (RNA, viral vectors, live attenuated, inactivated, recombinant) and their uses, from the scientists who worked on them.

Kristen Reich, director of learning at EcoTarium, said the museum felt the need to educate the public during the pandemic because science museums are among the most trusted facilities in their communities.

About a year ago, in the early stages of distributing a COVID-19 vaccine, museum officials realized that it was time to act and create an educational program, Reich said.

US Representative James B. McGovern, who attended the unveiling, said he hopes the exhibition will help change skeptical minds about vaccines and thwart misinformation about the vaccine.

There is a real public health need to address frequency, especially when it comes to misinformation. Unfortunately, many believe that spreading misinformation about the vaccine will help them politically.

Exhibits are in English and Spanish and hosted by Dr. Matilda Castile, Worcester Commissioner for Health and Human Services. He added that the city’s black and Latino residents are the hardest hit by the pandemic, and those groups have the lowest vaccination rates.

The exhibit, designed for third-grade adults, will be open to the public until February 27.