During the past year, CISCRP has been developing a new educational exhibition that will present the clinical research process through the eyes of volunteers. This exhibition will travel to museums in 12 cities during the course of a 3-year tour, reaching elementary through high school age children and their families. The Medical Heroes exhibition will present authentic stories and voices of volunteers who have participated in clinical trials. Exhibit design is underway and it will focus on three key areas:
- Meet the volunteers: Visitors will meet real study volunteers through photos, quotes, videos, and social media dialogue, and occasionally in person. In addition, hearing from volunteers participating in a wide range of clinical trials will help visitors to see clinical trials as more than treatments of last resort.
- Be a volunteer: Visitors will participate in a simple clinical trial and make decisions about participation: for example, using a blood pressure cuff to record their heart rate before and after doing jumping jacks. Multimedia exhibits will enable visitors to play the role of friend and adviser to volunteers who are figuring out what questions to ask and making decisions about participation.
- Discover the impact of participation: multimedia presentations will bring home the impact of participation by reporting on study results of well-known studies and connecting the dots between clinical trial participants and someone who directly benefited from the results of that participation.