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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Re Jonah's rant.

We should be taking responsibility for helping our visitors understand  
the flu. There are good resources that all museums can use to get  
information about transmission risks and prevention. Prevention of  
transmission, by visitors and staff, should  be based upon personal  
responsibility. In addition,education of staff can help as a source of  
information for visitors and additionally help curtail the spread of  
flu virus within institutions.

The Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/flu/ has  
comprehensive information.

Your state and local health departments can provide information as well.

http://www.flu.gov/ has lots of good information

 From my reading, suggested preventive flu measures basically amount  
to taking personal responsiblity for the following:

	• frequent hand washing and/or use of hand sanitizer (alcohol based  
are best)
	• very limited hand to face contact
	• covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing plus immediate  
hand washing
	• use of Kleenex and disposal of after use plus immediate hand washing
	• no sharing of cell phones, IPODS, lap tops, keyboards, etc.


Martin
______________________________
______________________________
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation Consultant
New York Hall of Science
mweiss at nysci dot org


On Oct 15, 2009, at 9:47 AM, Jonah Cohen wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> OK, forgive me if my knowledge of virology is painfully lacking,  
> but...
> Is there any possible reason anyone should be worried about getting
> their hand stamped? And if not, isn't avoiding doing so just playing  
> to
> paranoia + misinformation about the flu?
>
> Yes, the stamp touched someone else's hand for a second. So what? If a
> visitor considers that to be a health threat, what the heck are they
> doing at a museum? Are they going to not touch any of the exhibits  
> (all
> of which were touched by other people for a lot longer than a split
> second)? Are they going to avoid opening any doors (at the museum, the
> stores, schools, restaurants, town hall...) Or how do you know no one
> else touched that box of cereal at the supermarket? Or...
>
> It just seems to me that anyone who's concerned about getting their  
> hand
> stamped should put themselves in a plastic bubble + get it over with.
> Like I said, I could be wrong, and feel free to tell me so if I am,  
> but
> this strikes me as a point where reasonable health/sanitary concerns
> cross over into hysteria.
>
> Rant over,
> Jonah Cohen
> Outreach & Public Programs Manager
> The Children's Museum
>
>
> "There's where I come from, where I'm going, and I am lost in  
> between."
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> Our usual procedure is to stamp hands as visitors enter, but with all
>> the flu business, our visitors are growing concerned about this.
>
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__________________
__________________
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation Consultant
mweiss at nysci dot org

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

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