International Travelling Exhibition “Vaccines Injecting Hope” inaugurated at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technologies Museum, Bengaluru

An international travelling exhibition “Vaccines Injecting Hope” was inaugurated at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bengaluru, today. A specially designed Mobile Science Exhibition Bus will travel to nearby areas of Bengaluru to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines in saving human lives.

The exhibition has been developed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) in collaboration with Science Museum, London and with support from Wellcome, UK, ICMR, India, NIV, Pune, Serum Institute of India, CSIR, AIIMS, NIBMG, Kalyani and various other research and scientific organisations.

Started from November 15, 2022, the exhibition has travelled to Delhi, Nagpur and Mumbai. Now, starting from September 10, the exhibition will be on display at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, 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.On this occasion, Mr. 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, Mr. Samarendra Kumar, DDG, NCSM, and Mr. K. Sajoo Bhaskaran, Director, VITM, Bengaluru were present.

During Covid-19, unlike such earlier outbreaks, the World was prepared to quickly devise a defence to this new virulent disease. Where vaccines took decades to be formulated, in this case, scientists of the World could, using modern techniques hitherto unknown and unused, devised several versions of an effective vaccine in less than a year of its appearance. The virus stood overpowered if not defeated. This exhibition curated by NCSM and the Science Museum Group of UK, tells the story of the creation of a modern day vaccine and its many facets, with its human side.

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 tells the story of 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. The exhibition showcases ‘Through The Lens’, an artwork commissioned by British Council and created through collaboration between Indian sculptor based in Delhi, Sushank Kumar, and a playwright in London, Nigel Townsend. The artwork seeks to explore human’s relationship with Vaccination historically and in the light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

British Deputy High Commissioner Chandru Iyer said: “International partners help tell a global story to reach bigger, more diverse audiences, and inspire future generations. India is a significant contributor in science and culture, and collaborations between iconic institutions like 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. We look forward to scaling these opportunities.”

“After the grand success of the exhibition ‘Superbugs: The End of Antibiotics?’ this is another project where we have collaborated with the SMG group, London for raising awareness among masses about the importance of vaccines in our lives. Due to Corona pandemic, it will be very much relevant in India.  This time we have added one Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE) Bus to travel to the nearby areas of each location. The MSE Bus will mainly communicate the messages of the exhibition in rural areas. At the same time, I hope, the project will further strengthen the bond between the two leading Science Museums network in India & UK,” said Shri Samarendra Kumar, Dy. Director General of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and Head & Coordinator of the project in India.

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive, Science Museum Group said, “Injecting Hope is a truly international collaboration led by the Science Museum in London, but co-curated from the start with partners in India, China and the UK. The core research and message are consistent, but the exhibition and associated events programmes are tailored for each country. We have all learned from each other, and the animations in the Science Museum were created by our very dear partner in India – the National Council of Science Museums. This UK-India collaboration reflects the wider relationship between our two countries in the spheres of culture and science. We must cooperate to tackle the enormous challenges that face humankind, and there is no better example than the global effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine, in which the Serum Institute of India played such a vital part.”

“I am delighted to be at the launch of the ‘Vaccines: Injecting Hope’ exhibition in Bengaluru. This groundbreaking exhibition is a brilliant interpretation of how India and UK can work together to address global challenges like the ‘the COVID-19 pandemic’. I congratulate the National Council of Science Museums (India) and the Science Museum Group (UK) for their innovative partnership which is building on strong foundations to deepen scientific, educational and cultural ties between India and the UK” – said Alison Barrett MBE, Director India, British Council.

K. Sajoo Bhaskaran, Director, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bengaluru said- “The exhibition will be on display at the museum from September 10, 2024 till February 2025 and will be open to the public from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm daily. We have planned various educational programs and interactive activities during the period to educate and engage the masses and I invite the people of Bengaluru to visit the exhibition and participate in these activities. I hope the exhibition will definitely increase their understanding of the importance of vaccines in saving lives.”