Museum of Vision Press Releases

Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body Curriculum Guide

Museum of Vision Provides Free Curriculum Guides in Honor of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Campaign

Public Service Program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Teaches Kids That a Healthy Body Means Healthy Eyes

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - August 22, 2011 - Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. Obesity affects a child's overall health. In fact, if this trend continues, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives.

According to the National Eye Institute, between 40 to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness in the United States. That is why the Museum of Vision, a public service program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, has teamed up with the Let's Move! Museums and Gardens campaign. As a part of this national effort, the Museum is offering FREE curriculum guides for parents and educators to teach young people about the connection between healthy eyes and a healthy body.

Launched in May 2011, Let's Move! Museums and Gardens is the museum component of First Lady Michelle Obama's national initiative dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. One of the objectives of the campaign is to ensure that every family has access to affordable education about being healthy. The Museum of Vision supports and encourages teaching children about living a healthy lifestyle. To that end, the Museum has composed a curriculum guide for parents and teachers to use, when teaching their children the importance of maintaining a healthy body. The curriculum guide, Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body, can be downloaded for FREE.

The Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body curriculum is designed for multiple uses, including classrooms and home schools. While the concepts in this curriculum can be appreciated by children of all ages, it is targeted to students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. These children will be best able to grasp the concepts of life science, health and environment.

The first chapter of this curriculum, an introduction to the eye and the human visual system, will teach children about the parts of the eye and how they function together to allow them to see. The following two chapters focus on eating right and exercise. In these chapters, students will learn about the important vitamins and minerals in eye-healthy foods like strawberries, sunflower seeds and of course... carrots! Each chapter contains fun demonstrations and activities designed to help students understand these concepts with hands-on learning.

The Museum of Vision has partnered with the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and the National Association of School Nurses in order to help distribute the guides.

The Museum's Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body curriculum is just part of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's mission to empower consumers with sight-saving, eye health information. As a part of their EyeSmart initiative, the Academy has created the internet's most trusted source for accurate, timely and relevant eye health information, www.geteyesmart.org.

At geteyesmart.org, visitors can learn about eye diseases, conditions, risk factors and treatment options. Informative videos and interactive tools will help educate consumers about how to take care of their eyes at every age and all of the site's content is reviewed by a team of ophthalmologists to ensure clinical accuracy. To learn more, visit geteyesmart.org.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons—Eye M.D.s—with more than 30,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" – ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy's Web site at www.aao.org.

About the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
Established in 1980, the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (FAAO) has worked diligently for 30 years to raise financial support and implement programs that advance ophthalmic education and patient care. The programs created through the Academy Foundation's efforts ensure the best possible eye care for the public. More information can be found at: www.faao.org

About the Museum of Vision
The Museum of Vision is an educational program of The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It is the only institution in the United States whose sole purpose is to preserve the history of ophthalmology and celebrate its unique contributions to science and health. The Museum of Vision strives to inspire an appreciation of vision science, the ophthalmic professions and contributions made toward preventing blindness. More information about the Museum can be found at http://www.museumofvision.org/about/

Museum's 30th Anniversary

The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's
Museum of Vision Celebrates 30 Years of Preserving Ophthalmic Heritage

Program dedicated to the history of ophthalmology commemorates 30 years with new interactive web site and unique online exhibits

January, 2010 -- San Francisco, CA -- Founded in 1980, the Museum of Vision, an educational program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (FAAO) has worked to preserve and promote ophthalmic heritage. In honor of its 30th anniversary, the award-winning museum has launched a new web site, www.museumofvision.org.

Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) have played important roles in the history of medicine. The FAAO's Museum of Vision preserves this history and translates it into an educational resource for use by ophthalmologists, medical historians, researchers and the public as they seek to understand ophthalmology's contributions to society and address similar challenges today and in the future. The Museum's new web site connects the past with the present with a host of interactive, state-of-the-art web tools that will make every artifact and exhibit come to life.

The new Museum of Vision web site includes the following features:

Timeline of historical events in ophthalmology
This feature, predominately displayed on the home page, includes links to six separate timelines:   glaucoma, cataract, retina, refraction and refractive surgery, general ophthalmology and one large comprehensive timeline that combine the other five.

Collection & Archives
Use the online search to peruse the entire Museum collection, including the AAO Archive, for a specific topic of interest. This feature includes keyword and date searches, advanced searches on all fields, and a community forum area where users can sign in to leave comments.

Research & Resources
This aspect of the new site contains information for teachers and downloadable curriculum guides. It also houses information on artifact identification, performing historical research, photographic services and information about image rights and reproduction.

Exhibitions
The new Museum web site is now able to feature all of its exhibits, past and present including:
     •Eyes Examined - A look at early American ophthalmology with 19th Century
      case studies

     •Spectacular Spectacles - A review of the history of eye glasses and vision aids
      with examples from the collection.

     •Eyes of War - World War II from the point of view of ophthalmologists who
      participated in different aspects of the war.

     •To Fool the Eye – Insight into some of the false cures and fake medical
      claims that have surrounded American medicine, and

     •Windows to the Soul - An examination of the ancient legends and folklore
      surrounding eyes and sight.

Biographies & Oral Histories
This section is made up of short biographical sketches and links to excerpts from the oral history program. This section also features the Legacy Project, a collaboration to identify families with multiple generations of ophthalmologists.

The Foundation invites individuals to visit www.museumofvision.org for a one-of-a-kind interactive experience.

Note to Editors: High-resolution images and interviews with Museum of Vision spokespeople available upon request.

Media Contact: Allison Neves, Communications Director, Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 415-561-8518, aneves@aao.org

New Oral History Series

The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Museum of Vision Announces New Oral History Series

Museum Partners with Academy Seniors Committee and StoryCorps to Preserve Personal Stories of Ophthalmic Leaders

May 13, 2010 -- San Francisco, CA -- The Museum of Vision is proud to announce the publication of a new oral history series recorded in partnership with the Academy Seniors Committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and StoryCorps, a national project of Sound Portraits Productions. In conjunction with the Academy's October 2009 Joint Meeting with the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology held in San Francisco, 12 prominent Eye M.D.s were selected to participate in this oral history project, recording a total of six conversations, each lasting approximately 90 minutes. The first two conversations to be published are between Drs. Stanley Truhlsen and Melvin Rubin, and Drs. H. Dunbar Hoskins, Jr. and Alice McPherson.

To listen to excerpts of these conversations and to read complete transcripts, visit www.museumofvision.org/bios and select "Oral Histories" in the left navigation bar.

This oral history series consists of conversations which are wide ranging, from the history of the American Academy of Ophthalmology to the background and training of individual doctors, their struggles, triumphs and thoughts on all aspects of ophthalmology.

Each conversation is archived at the Museum of Vision. The Museum began building its oral history collection in 1987. Collaborating with partners such as the University of California, Berkeley, the museum has previously preserved 32 interviews, eight of which are also available online. "Our current collaboration with the Academy Seniors Committee and StoryCorps has provided the opportunity to add to this unique oral history collection," added Jenny Benjamin, Director, Museum of Vision & Stanley M. Truhlsen, MD, Director of Ophthalmic Heritage.

StoryCorps, is one of the largest oral history projects in America. It records projects like this one and donates a copy to the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. Established by Congress in 1928, the American Folklife Center preserves the story of America. It is one of the largest collections of ethnographic material in the world and now through this collaboration it contains the experiences of ophthalmologists as told in their own words. StoryCorps also provides access to conversations like these to National Public Radio which produces a weekly broadcast.

For more information about the Academy Seniors and StoryCorps, please visit their websites:
Academy Seniors Committee: www.aao.org/careers/seniors
StoryCorps: www.storycorps.org

About the Museum of Vision
Founded in 1980, the Museum of Vision, an educational program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (FAAO) has worked to preserve and promote ophthalmic heritage. In honor of its 30th anniversary, the award-winning museum has launched a new web site, www.museumofvision.org. The Foundation invites individuals to visit the Museum web site for a one-of-a-kind interactive experience.

Note to Editors: High-resolution images and interviews with Museum of Vision spokespeople available upon request.
Media Contact: Allison Neves, Public Relations Director, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 415-447-0385, aneves@aao.org