outreach

Epidemic Planet @ Edinburgh International Science Festival June 21, 2010

The Epidemic Planet exhibit at the Edinburgh International Science Festival has been a success: approximately 500 people per day have visited the special event "Meet the Medics and Vets" that hosted the Epidemic Planet.

The visualization of the pandemic influenza spreading pattern through numerical simulations attracted and involved both the teens, for the charming maps and animations, and the adults, for the chance to deepen their knowledge about the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.
The parents were particularly interested in the assessment of the vaccination campaign, since during the last November the mass media attention to the vaccination against the 'swine flu' stirred the debate between public health organizations and governments.
Visitors were amazed and fascinated by the exhibit and they enjoyed the simulations, also playing with the hypothetical scenarios of a pandemic influenza seeded in Edinburgh.

The enthusiastic feedback about the GLEaM project highlighted the interest and the curiosity of non-scientific audience towards a mathematical and computational approach to public health issues.

If you are interested in hosting an Epidemic Planet exhibit, please contact us at info@epifor.eu