Carter County Museum

In 1963, Dr. Hilleman’s daughter, Jeryl Lynn, came down with the mumps. By weakening the mumps virus he had obtained from swabs of her throat, he was able to make a safe and effective mumps vaccine. The same strain of mumps virus is used to make the mumps vaccine today. It is called the Jeryl Lynn strain.

Prior to the vaccine, mumps was the most common cause of meningitis (swelling of the lining of the brain and spinal cord in children). It was the leading cause of acquired deafness among children in the United States.

This ten part series tells the story of developing that vaccine. Illustrations by Jenn Hall for Carter County Museum.

Elementary Lesson 4 Activity 1 - Jeryl Lynn Hilleman & the Mumps Vaccine

One of the most important inventors of vaccines was Dr. Maurice Hilleman, who came from Miles City, Montana. 

Elementary Lesson 3 Activity: Who Was Dr. Maurice Hilleman?

Match each word in Column A with its definition in Column B. 

Elementary Lesson 1 Activity - Vocabulary

Maurice "Morris" Hilleman at right and Harold at left on Hillside Ranch near Miles City, Mont. circa 1931. Image courtesy Museum of the Rockies for the Hilleman & Vaccines Curriculum by Carter County Museum. 

Biography: Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman

Read the story about Jeryl Lynn and the Mumps Vaccine, then answer the following questions. 

Elementary Lesson 4 Activity 2 - The Scientific Method

This curriculum is organized around the life of Dr. Maurice Hilleman, groundbreaking microbiologist and vaccine developer. Dr. Hilleman was born and raised in rural Montana, so these lessons inspire curiosity in Montana's rural students as well as spark interest in global public health. The project links photographs from Hilleman's life that expand student knowledge of scientific concepts. The lessons were designed by a group of teachers who piloted the curriculum in Ekalaka, Mont. Content background was provided by Carter County Museum in consultation with Montana State University and Museum of the Rockies. 

This resource is broken into two units: one for K-6 and another for 9-12 grades. The Indian Education for All lessons are for grades 6-8 and contain a glossary for younger students. We welcome educators to use the entire curriculum the lesson that applies most to their current studies. The lessons are strongest when taught in sequential order.

Hilleman and Vaccines 9-12 L1 Student Pgs.pdf

Hilleman & Vaccines: Connecting Culture to Scientific Curiosity (K-12 Curriculum)

Life Science

Science

Engineering and Technology

Application/Practice of Science

U.S. History

Social Studies

World History

K-8 Mathematics

Mathematics

HS Modeling

HS Statistics & Probability

Reading: Foundational Skills

English Language Arts

Speaking & Listening

Reading: History/Social Studies

Reading: Science & Technical Subjects

Writing: Science & Technical Subjects

Elementary Lesson 3: Who Was Dr. Maurice Hilleman?

Did you know that Maurice Hilleman's work saves about 8 million lives a year? That's about the number of people who would live in EIGHT Montanas! Who is Maurice Hilleman?

Maurice Ralph Hilleman was a microbiologist from Montana whose hard work and perseverance in the field of immunology helped him to develop about 40 vaccines over 60 years. He is most famous for inventing eight of the fourteen vaccines most children receive today.

Maurice was born on August 30, 1919, in Miles City, Montana. Maurice was the eighth child born to Robert and Edith Hilleman. His mother and his twin sister died soon after he was born.

Maurice went to live with his aunt and uncle on a nearby farm. The farm served as his first science laboratory, teaching him the basics about chicken eggs which he used later as a scientist to grow viruses. 

After graduating from Custer County High School in Miles City, Maurice worked in a JC Penney store. He almost didn't get to go to college, but his eldest brother helped to persuade their biological father, that Maurice should have the opportunity to attend college. Maurice also won scholarships.

In 1941, Hilleman graduated first in his class

from Montana State University. Next he went

to the University of Chicago. In 1944, he

received his doctorate in Microbiology and

In 1944, Hilleman went to work for E.R. Squibb and Sons and developed a vaccine for Japanese encephalitis. This was a disease that was killing American soldiers in the Pacific during World War II.

Hillleman became chief of respiratory diseases at Walter Reed Hospital in 1949. By studying the influenza virus, he was able to recognize that a 1957 outbreak of influenza in Hong Kong could become a worldwide epidemic, also known as a pandemic.

Hilleman coordinated the creation of 40 million doses of vaccine. Although 69,000 Americans died, without Hilleman's rapid response, the pandemic would have been much worse. Hilleman received the Distinguished Service Medal from the American military for his work.

In 1957, Dr. Hilleman began working for Merck to oversee vaccine research and development. He remained at Merck for the rest of his career and developed almost forty vaccines.

Hilleman developed the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine in 1971. By putting three vaccines into one injection, kids would only hove to get one shot instead of three! In most of the world, his vaccines hove almost wiped out many of these once-common childhood illnesses.

In 1981, Hilleman created a vaccine for hepatitis B, a terrible virus found in the blood. Hepatitis B can cause cancer of the liver cells, so his vaccine was said to be the first to prevent human cancer.

Besides making vaccines to stop human diseases, Hilleman also made vaccines for the poultry industry, saving millions of chickens and millions of dollars. In addition, Hilleman is given credit for co-discovering different viruses, including the hepatitis A virus and the rhinoviruses that cause colds.

In 1943, Dr. Hilleman married his hometown sweetheart, Thelma Mason. In 1957, shortly after adopting his daughter, Jeryl Lynn, he began working for Merck.

Sadly, his wife, Thelma, died in 1963. In 1963, Jeryl Lynn came down with the mumps. By weakening the mumps virus he had obtained from swabs of her throat, he was able to make a safe and effective mumps vaccine. The same strain of mumps virus is used to make the mumps vaccine today. It is called the Jeryl Lynn strain.

Dr. Hilleman married Lorraine Witmer the following year. They hod a daughter, Kirsten, in 1965.

Hilleman was modest but he believed in hard work. None of his vaccines were named after him. He insisted on watch.ing over all the steps of developing a vaccine. It was very important to him that his vaccines were safe.

Hilleman retired in 1984. He continued to help with notional and international public health organizations, including the World Health Organization. He thought vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS were necessary. Hilleman died at the age of 85, on April 11, 2005.

Resource Kits

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Hilleman & Vaccines: Connecting Culture to Scientific Curiosity (K-12 Curriculum)

Elementary Lesson 3 Activity: Who Was Dr. Maurice Hilleman?

Who Was Maurice Hilleman?