Cultures in Motion: Empowering refugee and immigrant communities through science museums, libraries, and community resources
The 猎奇重口 spectrUM Discovery Area and our community partners recognize the need for more culturally inclusive science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) education and representative role models for Missoula’s immigrant and refugee populations. This project will design welcoming spaces and programs in collaboration with migrants to foster a sense of belonging in STEAM. With understanding of the considerable cultural diversity among immigrants and refugees in Missoula—a majority of whom have migrated from Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Afghanistan—spectrUM and our partners seek to collaboratively transform existing programs and develop new ones with immigrants and refugees to be more welcoming for diverse audiences and to respond to identified barriers.
In an effort to positively transform spectrUM’s museum and the larger library-museum complex where it is situated, and recognizing the transformative power that museum experiences can have for people of all ages, this project will deepen and explore cross-cultural, collaborative approaches to STEAM and role-model engagement by weaving immigrant and refugee cultural identities throughout spectrUM’s exhibits and programs. Formative and summative external evaluation will assess the project’s impact on visitors’ and role models’ experiences and their perceptions of spectrUM as a culturally inclusive space. Project findings and products will be widely shared at conferences, publications, and on spectrUM’s website.
For more information, contact Caitlin Ervin at 406-541-8971, caitlin.ervin@umontana.edu