The Science Museum of Minnesota will create a 450-square-foot version of its award-winning "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibition for distribution to rural areas and communities in Minnesota, and adjacent regions in Iowa, eastern North and South Dakota, and northern Wisconsin. The museum will produce four replicas of the exhibition for museums and partner organizations, and collaborate with community groups to develop supporting programming specific to identified community needs. Programs will include facilitated reflective dialogues for groups of adults and students; a leadership institute with representatives from each host community; an educator guide for secondary school teachers; and a variety of workshops and arts presentations to extend conversations about race and racism. Like the original RACE exhibition, these condensed exhibitions will encourage visitors to explore the science, history, and everyday effects of race and racism through a combination of artifacts, historic and contemporary photography, multimedia components, and interactive activities.
The number of Latinos and Native Americans represented in library and information science professions is extremely low. The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science will address this inequity in its Connected Learning in Digital Heritage Curation project, which focuses on archives and special collections, medical librarianship, and public librarianship. The project will educate 24 culturally competent master’s degree students to serve Latino and Native American communities in the digital world. Students will gain hands-on experience working as graduate assistants with project partners: the University of Arizona Libraries, Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Health Sciences Library, Pima County Public Library, Arizona Historical Society, Arizona State Museum, Labriola National American Indian Data Center, American Indian Film Gallery, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research and the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.
The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico will develop and implement "Art and Technology," which will provide learning opportunities to at-risk youth in the San Juan metropolitan area by integrating the museum's exhibits and collections as a platform for learning activities and dynamic thinking. Through lessons on digital media, photography, and art aligning with academic standards, students will acquire technology and problem-solving skills, language proficiency and communication skills, the ability to better interact with peers, and enhanced information skills. At-risk youth will be able to use the museum as an innovative learning facility with free art and technological resources to develop their skills to learn, create, and share with their peers their work in a safe environment.