ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Jonah;

As I tried to say it is our responsibly to help visitors understand  
the risks of flu transmission and to state clearly what is known to  
work, and implement them as best we can.  Not only for visitors but  
staff as well. However, visitors and staff need to take personal  
responsibility.

Martin


On Oct 15, 2009, at 10:50 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.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> See, now we're veering close to another border that I think is one to
> tread carefully around.
>
> Essentially, it's the one that says "We do things that won't actually
> protect visitors from the flu, we're willing to support potentially
> harmful pseudoscience about health, as long as we don't get blamed for
> anything. Better that than have deal with mistaken preconceptions."
>
> Just my opinion,
> 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-----
> From: Informal Science Education Network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
>
> ACM's Hand to Hand spring 2008 issue was focused on the theme of
> cleanliness and safety in children's museums. In an article about the
> 2007 Reach Advisors Survey of children's museums (5,459 responses),
> Susie Wilkining, Reach senior consultant, commented on Gen-X parents'
> attitudes towards cleanliness, "If...kids get sick after a museum  
> visit,
> no matter where else a child might have been, [parents] tend to blame
> the museum."
>
> The hand stamp question seems directly related to the hand sanitizer
> one.
> About hand sanitizers, Wilkening summed up the survey data by saying,
> "If I were running a children's museum, I'd have [hand sanitizers.]
> Whether or not they work, or whether or not kids use them, they give
> visitors the perception that the museum cares about their well-being."
>
> From a visitor services point of view-not a scientific one-for folks  
> who
> are highly sensitized to the flu issue, offering a "non-touching"  
> option
> for stamping/banding/stickering museum visitors seems like a good  
> diea.
>
> Mary Maher
> Editor
> Hand to Hand
>
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__________________
__________________
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation Consultant
mweiss at nysci dot org

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