Detroit Science Center launches "Diabetes: A Deeper Look" traveling exhibit

Diabetes: A Deeper Look Educates Americans About This Growing Epidemic Through Hands-on Experience for All Ages

In the United States, a person is diagnosed with diabetes every 21 seconds. On December 5, 2009, the Detroit Science Center will debut its newest exhibit, Diabetes: A Deeper Look, to help answer questions that the public might have about diabetes, diabetes treatment and the role insulin plays in the body.

"Diabetes: A Deeper Look offers our visitors a unique opportunity to learn about a condition that affects nearly 24 million Americans," said Kevin F. Prihod, President & CEO, Detroit Science Center. "The Detroit Science Center is pleased to offer this educational experience, because the more you know about diabetes and available treatment options, the better equipped you are to take the right steps in achieving improved blood sugar control."

Diabetes: A Deeper Look is a 2,500 sq. ft. traveling exhibit, made possible with support from sanofi-aventis U.S., that features a collection of interactive displays built in and around a giant walk-through blood vessel. The hands-on exhibit is designed to help reach large audiences, including people living with diabetes, their friends and families, caregivers, treating healthcare providers, students and community members not yet diagnosed.

Visitors to the exhibit enter through a giant cell structure that simulates how insulin helps get glucose into cells. Inside and around the vessel, hands-on interactive exhibits and displays will explain the role of insulin; how people can be affected by diabetes; the importance of diet and exercise as the first line of defense to preventing and managing type 2 diabetes; the types of medications used to help control blood sugar levels, including insulin; and the research and discovery of medications used to help treat diabetes.

"Sanofi-aventis U.S. recognizes the value of educating the American public about diabetes and available treatment options and is proud to work with the Detroit Science Center in launching the Diabetes: A Deeper Look traveling exhibit," said Dr. Paul Chew, Chief ScienceOfficer/Chief Medical Officer, sanofi-aventis U.S. "This exhibit will help tell the story of people living with diabetes, and more specifically, explain the important role of insulin in the body and how different parts of the body are affected when it does not effectively use or produce enough insulin."

Diabetes: A Deeper Look will open at the Detroit Science Center on December 5, followed by a tour of 12 additional U.S. destinations from 2010-2012. Entrance to the Diabetes: A Deeper Look exhibit is free of charge to visitors with museum admission.

"It is important for Detroit residents, as well as the American public as a whole, to learn more about diabetes, and for those living with the condition, how to properly manage it," said Abdul Salam Al-Kassab, MD PhD MRCP FACE, Attending Physician, Endocrinoloy & Diabetes, Clinical Associate Professor of Endocrinology, Wayne State University.