Quarantine Tent
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Support a novel street-theater public health outreach program!
The Quarantine Tent is a science and history-themed event designed to communicate information about risks of diseases, medical science, and vaccination. It is a grassroots effort we take to street festivals.
Historically, what are now vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, diphtheria, whooping cough and others had devastating effects on populations. However, many of today’s families don’t have the context as to what the risks of these diseases mean in terms of a non-vaccinated population. A goal of the Quarantine Tent is to communicate what the diseases are really like and their associated risks in a way that is fun, educational and accessible. It brings into context the risks of the diseases compared to risks from vaccines, and addresses misconceptions.
When visiting the Quarantine Tent, visitors meet people transported from the past who have vaccine-preventable diseases from eras before vaccines were available. Several actors portray people from the past who are each ‘infected’ with what are now vaccine preventable diseases. The diseases portrayed include smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, polio, influenza (1918 flu), and HPV. The actors consist of local university students in the fields of public health, medicine, the biosciences, medical history and related areas. How did these diseases, unchecked, affect children, their families, communities, and the nation?
Taking a ‘Big Picture’ look using historical comparisons, vaccines have been an incredible success story in reducing the incidence of a variety of diseases. Over the past 100 years, Canada played an important role in the development of several important vaccines.
The Tent has appeared at several street fairs in Toronto, Kingston and Hamilton, most notably at several Science Rendezvous street fairs, and Open Streets festivals. We typically interact with, and have diuscussions with, 500 to 800 people a day. The first Tent was launched at Science Rendezvous in 2013 at the University of Toronto.
Volunteers who contribute to the content of the Tent include medical writers, infectious diseases physicians, immunologists, researchers, physicians, public health academics, and medical/public health historians.
OUR HISTORY
The Quarantine Tent was created by Pippa Wysong, a medical writer whose grandfather, Dr. Gordon Bates was one of Canada’s public health pioneers. He began practising medicine before vaccines were invented and saw the devastation diseases caused families. He witnessed the quick and dramatic reduction of disease cases, and increased numbers of childrens’ lives saved when immunization programs were first introduced. He was involved in early studies comparing before and after rates of disease in relation to vaccine programs. The inspiration for the Tent grew from the idea of ‘wouldn’t it be great if people could talk to people from the past who really knew what the diseases are like, and how immunization changed the world’?
WHAT YOUR CONTRIBUTION COVERS
Funds will cover the costs of taking this event to additional festivals in southern Ontario this coming summer (2018), as well as the costs of a tent, signage, props, costumes, administration costs, space rental at festivals, transportation, make-up artists, fundraising platform fees, and more. You can help make it possible to take the Tent to a larger number of events, further improve training materials for the actors, and expand the program (expertise on how to expand the program is also welcome). This is an independent, grass roots effort and we choose not to take funds from pharmaceutical companies.
More info at: http://sci-why.blogspot.ca/2014/07/quarantine-tent-looks-to-past-in.html
This is what the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Uof Toronto) says: http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/2015/04/meet-measles-diphtheria-and-smallpox/
Mr. Smallpox has a keen audience. Science Rendezvous, Toronto.
Diphtheria, Polio, 1918 Flu, Measles and Immunologist greet a visitor. Hamilton, Open Streets festival.
Follow us on Twitter @QTent2016
The Quarantine Tent is a science and history-themed event designed to communicate information about risks of diseases, medical science, and vaccination. It is a grassroots effort we take to street festivals.
Historically, what are now vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, diphtheria, whooping cough and others had devastating effects on populations. However, many of today’s families don’t have the context as to what the risks of these diseases mean in terms of a non-vaccinated population. A goal of the Quarantine Tent is to communicate what the diseases are really like and their associated risks in a way that is fun, educational and accessible. It brings into context the risks of the diseases compared to risks from vaccines, and addresses misconceptions.
When visiting the Quarantine Tent, visitors meet people transported from the past who have vaccine-preventable diseases from eras before vaccines were available. Several actors portray people from the past who are each ‘infected’ with what are now vaccine preventable diseases. The diseases portrayed include smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, polio, influenza (1918 flu), and HPV. The actors consist of local university students in the fields of public health, medicine, the biosciences, medical history and related areas. How did these diseases, unchecked, affect children, their families, communities, and the nation?
Taking a ‘Big Picture’ look using historical comparisons, vaccines have been an incredible success story in reducing the incidence of a variety of diseases. Over the past 100 years, Canada played an important role in the development of several important vaccines.
The Tent has appeared at several street fairs in Toronto, Kingston and Hamilton, most notably at several Science Rendezvous street fairs, and Open Streets festivals. We typically interact with, and have diuscussions with, 500 to 800 people a day. The first Tent was launched at Science Rendezvous in 2013 at the University of Toronto.
Volunteers who contribute to the content of the Tent include medical writers, infectious diseases physicians, immunologists, researchers, physicians, public health academics, and medical/public health historians.
OUR HISTORY
The Quarantine Tent was created by Pippa Wysong, a medical writer whose grandfather, Dr. Gordon Bates was one of Canada’s public health pioneers. He began practising medicine before vaccines were invented and saw the devastation diseases caused families. He witnessed the quick and dramatic reduction of disease cases, and increased numbers of childrens’ lives saved when immunization programs were first introduced. He was involved in early studies comparing before and after rates of disease in relation to vaccine programs. The inspiration for the Tent grew from the idea of ‘wouldn’t it be great if people could talk to people from the past who really knew what the diseases are like, and how immunization changed the world’?
WHAT YOUR CONTRIBUTION COVERS
Funds will cover the costs of taking this event to additional festivals in southern Ontario this coming summer (2018), as well as the costs of a tent, signage, props, costumes, administration costs, space rental at festivals, transportation, make-up artists, fundraising platform fees, and more. You can help make it possible to take the Tent to a larger number of events, further improve training materials for the actors, and expand the program (expertise on how to expand the program is also welcome). This is an independent, grass roots effort and we choose not to take funds from pharmaceutical companies.
More info at: http://sci-why.blogspot.ca/2014/07/quarantine-tent-looks-to-past-in.html
This is what the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Uof Toronto) says: http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/2015/04/meet-measles-diphtheria-and-smallpox/
Mr. Smallpox has a keen audience. Science Rendezvous, Toronto.Diphtheria, Polio, 1918 Flu, Measles and Immunologist greet a visitor. Hamilton, Open Streets festival.Follow us on Twitter @QTent2016
Organizer
P Wysong
Organizer
Toronto, ON
