As people are making decisions about the COVID-19 vaccine, different situations and concerns are unique to each community. The Smithsonian’s Vaccines & US initiative is dedicated to supporting communities and individuals through these decisions. The Smithsonian Science Education Center is supporting educators and young people to engage in conversations about these concerns. Through the “Vaccines! How can we use science to help our community make decisions about vaccines?” community response guide, young people learn about the concerns of their community in order to communicate accurate, helpful, and trusted information about vaccines. By engaging with this guide, young people support their communities to make informed and safe decisions.
Utilizing a transdisciplinary approach to learning, the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project’s newest community response guide, “Vaccines!” features 8 tasks that incorporate investigations and hands-on science to help students discover, understand, and take action. Students learn about the science of vaccines throughout history; understand the science of how vaccines work; learn about how vaccines are developed; examine issues of equity, access, and misinformation; and develop an action plan for addressing vaccine concerns in their communities.
“Vaccines! How can we use science to help our community make decisions about vaccines?” will be released to the public in English on May 1st, and in Spanish at the end of May. Please join us for webinars on May 5 and May 13 to support educators to use this content with their students.
To learn more and register for these webinars visit: https://ssec.si.edu/event/vaccines.
By Alexa Mogck, Professional Services Program Assistant, Smithsonian Science Education Center