Sample Excerpt from: Brochure for CDC (Centers for Disease Control) highlighting new Global Health Odyssey Museum - targeted to schoolteachers as a field trip site.

 

The Global Health Odyssey - The Extraordinary Story of the CDC

 

Finally, A Look Inside…

For years, a curious public has wanted to know more. What is the history of public health? What exactly does CDC do? Where have we been and where are we going? How does what we do impact you? Using a dynamic combination of colorful original posters, historical artifacts, and fun informative interactive displays and video presentations, GHO answers these questions and more. You’ll walk away with a real sense of what’s been going on in public health for decades now - an intimate look into the organization that truly sees themselves as the “guardians of the nation’s health.”

 

Humble Beginnings

In 1947, new CDC employees, working out of cramped quarters on Peachtree Street, demonstrated some of the legendary teamwork and camaraderie for which the new agency would become renowned. Penny by penny, CDC employees collected the token $10.00 fee for the15-acre plot near the Emory grounds earmarked for their new home. And thus began the next chapter in the incredible story of the organization that would change the course of world health. A story that we now share with you for the first time through Global Health Odyssey.

 

Play Along And Learn!

Far from dealing with just disease, CDC actively promotes healthy lifestyles as the best way to prevent sickness and injury. Through interactive touch screens, kids test their skill in spotting key health factors in the everyday environments in which we live, eat, work and play. Through these exercises, adults and kids get solid pointers in safety, personal hygiene, good eating habits, and other tips for long healthy lives. You’ll consider such important questions as: What do you do to keep healthy? What kinds of foods do you eat? Do you exercise?

 

Time Travel, Anyone?

Want to take a trip back in time? Visit the highlight of the exhibit, the interactive CDC TimeLine. Using rare archival video footage, the TimeLine offers truly fascinating glimpses into the role that the Public Health Service and then CDC played - in the U.S. and around the globe - in positively impacting the course of history for millions. You’ll travel back and get a “you-were-there” sense of what is was like to be around during those challenging and troubled times.

 

CDC’s Milestones…

As you stroll through history, you’ll see relive the defining moments in public health and CDC. The public health initiative against malaria in the early 1900’s. The ultimately successful campaign to eradicate smallpox in 20 countries in Africa, waged from 1966 to 1977. The dramatic reduction in heart disease and stroke achieved through CDC’s efforts. The serious present-day viral threats: Hanta, Ebola, and - closer to home - AIDS, and the headway we’re making. The next disease in CDC’s sights? Polio. The estimated global eradication date? The end of the century. Find out what they’re doing to make this a reality. Just as importantly, you’ll get in touch with CDC’s ambitious campaigns to promote safe and healthy lifestyles right here at home.

 

All About Prevention

Yet, the work of the CDC is so much more than finding “cures” in the laboratory. You’ll discover that much of the job of CDC “Disease Detectives” is simply preventing the causes of disease. And that means looking at key environmental factors. Maybe it’s contaminated drinking water or food supplies that are encouraging the growth of dangerous parasites, mosquitoes or other carriers of disease. By getting to the source of the problem and teaching people new healthy habits, the field troops of CDC can break the cycle of disease and death.

 

Looking To The Future…

And that’s just as true in our country. Did you know that the major causes of death in the U.S. in 1900 were dramatically different from those in 1993? You’ll find out why as you discover that the major modern killers - heart disease, cancer, stroke, bronchitis, and injury - all have a preventable component, usually in lifestyle changes. What are CDC’s hot issues for the 90’s and beyond? AIDS, smoking, violence in America, and the new antibiotic-resistant viruses. Find out how CDC is focusing on prevention - especially when it comes to the health of kids! - in tackling these new challenges.

 

And Maybe, Just Maybe…

Visitors young and old will get a sense of the pride felt by these outstanding men and women, respected and admired the world over, as they pursue their never-ending quest for world health. And who knows? Maybe their words and deeds will inspire a young person to say, “I’d like to make a difference in the world, by being a part of CDC.” For it’s only through continuing to attract talented and dedicated people to careers in the sciences that we ensure the future of the public health will be strong and vibrant.

 

Something For Everyone

Through an informative 5-minute video presentation, host Bill Cosby and a collection of CDC professionals offer a warm welcome. Moving through the exhibit, you’ll visit a simulated laboratory, a field investigation tent, hazardous waste site and other life-size settings that’ll give you a feel for the many arenas in which CDC operates. Bright catchy visuals - photographs, posters, and artifacts chronicle the spectacular and historic disease eradication campaigns waged by the CDC around the world. For more in-depth treatments, visitors can turn to the interactive dimension of the exhibit, the Life Style screens, the CDC TimeLine and the CDC Internet Home Page to explore the rich depths of the CDC story - past, present, and future.

 

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