London National Council of Science Museum joins hands to tell the story of global efforts to develop anti Covid vaccine
“There is no better example than the global effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine in which the Serum Institute of India played a significant role” — Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive, Science Museum Group London.
To raise awareness about the importance of vaccines in saving human lives, a specially designed Mobile Science Exhibition Bus “Vaccines Injecting Hope” was inaugurated Tuesday in Bengaluru’s Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM) by Dr. Soumya Swaminathan Chairperson, M.S Swaminathan Research Foundation in the presence of Chandru Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner; Sir Ian Blatchford, Executive Director, Science Museum Group, London; Dr. B Venkatraman Chairman, Executive Committee, VITM & Former Director, IGCAR; Dr. Pragya Yadav Scientist, ICMR – National Institute of Virology, Pune; Samarendra Kumar, DOG, NCSM, and K. Sajoo Bhaskaran, Director, VITM, Bengaluru.
The exhibition showcases the story of the creation of a modern-day vaccine and its many facets, with its human side.
The exhibition will travel to nearby areas of Bengaluru. Commissioned by the British Council as part of the India/UK Together Season of Culture, the art installation ‘Through The Lens’ is the highlight of the exhibition. The artwork was created through collaboration between Indian sculptors based in Delhi.
On the occasion,Chandru Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner said that international partners help tell a global story to reach diverse and bigger audiences and inspire future generations. India is a significant contributor to science and culture. Collaboration with the Science Museum Group in the UK and the National Council of Science Museums in India have enabled several cross-learning opportunities between the UK and India.
Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive, of Science Museum Group London said, “This drive is a truly international collaboration led by the Science Museum in London and co-curated with India, China and the UK. This UK-India collaboration reflects the wider relationship between the two countries in the domains of science and culture. There is no better example than the global effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine in which the Serum Institute of India played a significant role.”
Starting from November 25, 2022, the exhibition has travelled to Delhi, Nagpur, and Mumbai. Now, starting from September 10, the exhibition will be on display in Bengaluru till February 28, 2025. After Bengaluru it will be on display in Kolkata till September 2025 and is expected to reach out to more than 2 million people.
The exhibition is curated by NCSM in collaboration with the Science Museum Group of the UK and with support from Wellcome, UK, ICMR, NIV Pune, Serum Institute of India, AIIMS, and various other research and scientific organizations.
Vaccine journey
The Covid-19 claimed huge casualties. Vaccines took decades to be formulated, in this case, scientists of the World could, using modern techniques hitherto unknown and unused, devise several versions of an effective vaccine in less than a year of its appearance. The exhibition has sections on ‘The Arrival of New Virus’, ‘Designing a New Vaccine’, trials, Results and Approvals’, ’Scaling Up and Mass Production’, ‘Vaccine Rollout’, ‘Living with COVID’ and the global effort to find new ways to develop vaccines at pandemic speed and look at vaccinations more broadly with a historical and contemporary view. The exhibition set out the scientific principles underlying a vaccine’s creation and efficacy while capturing the behind-the-scenes work that accompanies their rapid development, production, transport, and delivery.
