The spread of swine flu has been a cause of great concern globally. With no vaccine developed as yet, (at time of writing in July 2009) and given the fact that modern-day humans can travel speedily across the world, there are fears that this disease may spread out of control. The worst-case scenario would be one of unfettered exponential growth. Medical scientists and politicians, however, are making every effort to make this exponential growth "change its mind" and come under control. The purpose of this article is not to lay claim to a definitive mathematical model for swine flu, but rather to illustrate some activities that will help students engage with this real world phenomenon in a spirit of curiosity and exploration. (Contains 9 figures.)