So many masks, so much information...AHHAA helps you out!

There are thousands of safety masks, but which one should you choose? And how? Science Centre AHHAA (Tartu, Estonia) teamed up with University of Tartu to create a new informative exhibition. Last autumn, the university physicists received 139 different masks from all over Estonia - from top-notch surgical masks to DIY fabric masks - and analysed them. Turns out that a mask's breathability could be more important than its filtering properties. How come? If your mask filters well, but you can't really breathe through it, you're more likely to take it off altogether. Meanwhile, a mask with a higher breathability score will be worn more often, so in the longer run, it will protect you more (even when the filtering properties are not so great).

Visitors can see a more thorough analysis on ten masks (as picked by the researchers) and an overview of all the other examples. Maybe your own mask made it to the exhibition as well? Come and check it out until the end of May.

Science Centre AHHAA is located in Sadama 1, Tartu, Estonia.

You can also see some photos from the exhibition here.