Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Blog Post: Teaching AIDS in the early 1980s"

HIV and AIDS Thirty Years Ago

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:39:37 GMT

This online exhibition examines the public health, scientific, and political responses in the early phase (1981-87) of the global HIV and AIDS pandemic. The website features photographs, magazine covers and public health information pamphlets from AIDS service organizations.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that produces AIDS by impairing the human immune system and allowing diseases such as pneumonia and various cancers to take hold. AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the term for the combination of infection with HIV, a reduced number of specific immune system cells (ones with CD4 surface proteins), and the illnesses associated with HIV.

History Explorer Podcast: 30th Anniversary of HIV and AIDS

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:11:17 GMT

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, Curator Katherine Ott discusses the anniversary of the defining of HIV and how it fits into the history of both science and our society.

Blog Post: A Brief History of AZT

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:59:28 GMT

In this post, students will learn about the first approved HIV/AIDS drug, AZT (also called Zidovudine (ZVD) and Retrovir). The drug is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor. This type of medicine stops the reproduction of DNA and reduces the amount of the virus in the blood (the viral load). This post is published on the Museum's "O Say Can You See?" blog.

Blog Post: Teaching AIDS Awareness Through Trading Cards

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:00:38 GMT

In this post, students will learn how trading cards were used to educate those who could not be reached through more traditional methods during the AIDS epidemic. In 1993, comic book publisher Eclipse Enterprises released a set of 110 AIDS Awareness trading cards. The cards feature a variety of HIV/AIDS information and organizations, as well as personalities who died from AIDS, were currently battling the disease, or were involved in AIDS awareness. Written by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.,Archives Specialist for the Smithsonian Archives Center, this post is published on the Museum's "O Say Can You See?" blog.