At the end of last month, Hampshire’s sustainable travel brand My Journey launched a new Air Quality Exhibit at Winchester Science Centre.
The new exhibit will be a permanent fixture at the centre and is funded by the Department for Transport’s Access Fund to encourage sustainable travel, improve public health and tackle harmful pollution.
The project was commissioned as part of the fund for Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council to promote sustainable travel, tackling poor air quality across three major corridors: Eastleigh and Chandler’s Ford, Totton and Hedge End.
The installation features a set of lungs which respond when visitors turn various dials to answer different questions. The aim is to demonstrate how air quality impacts on health and the individual measures that can be taken to improve levels of air pollution.
The display, designed and created by model maker Clive Ramble, was launched by Councillor Rob Humby, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport and Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Peartree Ward Southampton. The launch was attended by pupils and teachers from Harefield Primary School and Bursledon Junior School, who have been working hard to encourage people to walk and cycle on the school run.
The launch of the exhibit comes as new research has been released demonstrating that primary schoolchildren are exposed to 30% more toxic pollution than adults while walking to school, due to their closer proximity to vehicle exhaust fumes.
The 2.3 million children who are driven to school are exposed to double the amount of particulates and NOx pollution inside vehicles compared to those who walk.
