The Smithsonian Institution on Wednesday prepared to share the story of how Ebola devastated West Africa and how health officials had battled it and other contagious diseases, just as an experimental vaccine reached the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fight a worsening outbreak of the deadly virus.

The exhibit, titled “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World,” is set to run for three years at the at the Museum of Natural History in Washington. Kirk Johnson, the museum’s director, said 10 million visitors are expected during that time.