Making air pollution exposure visible: a museum-based intervention for health literacy

This poster presents an interactive air pollution exhibit developed within the exhibition "Planetary Health – One Planet. One Health. Our Future." at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, addressing the challenge of communicating invisible environmental health risks. It focuses on differences in particulate matter exposure along urban routes with varying traffic levels, with particular attention to children's vulnerability and the role of everyday mobility decisions. The exhibit combines first-person video footage from the perspective of a child in a pram with contextualized data visualizations comparing particulate matter exposure along high- and low-traffic routes. A mixed-methods evaluation combines matched pre–post questionnaires assessing awareness, perceived relevance, and behavioral intentions with qualitative interviews exploring visitors' understanding, emotional responses, and reflections on everyday exposure. Quantitative results show significant increases across all three constructs following engagement with the exhibit. Qualitative findings provide further insights into perspective-taking, personal relevance, existing risk perceptions, and the practical barriers that may limit behavioral change. The poster was presented at the 19th European Public Health (EPH) Conference in Bilbao, Spain, from November 11–13, 2026. It highlighted how interactive, experience-based science communication can make invisible environmental health risks more tangible, support environmental health literacy, and inform public health communication beyond museum settings, including healthcare contexts.