Pressroom Story

RACE: Are We So Different? Encourages Equality

In Brief:

Title: New Exhibition at Rochester Museum & Science Center Encourages Racial Equality Through Interaction and Scientific Understanding

Location: 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607

Dates: January 19—April 28, 2013

Admission: Free with regular Museum admission: $13 adults, $12 seniors and college students with ID, $11 ages 3 to 18, free for RMSC members and children under 3

Detailed Information: www.rmsc.org; Facebook; Twitter (@rocRMSC)

New Exhibition at Rochester Museum & Science Center Encourages Racial Equality Through Interaction and Scientific Understanding

ROCHESTER, NY—RACE: Are We So Different?, a new hands-on exhibition at the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC), explores the history, science and lived experience of race. With a goal of creating equality through structural and individual change, the exhibition promotes exploration, understanding and discussions about racial issues. Celebrating the diversity within the community, RACE: Are We So Different? opens in the Riedman Gallery on January 19 and runs through April 28, 2013.

"Science challenges the foundations of race—telling us that we are much more the same than different," said Kate Bennett, president, RMSC. "This exhibition is expected to spark conversations about race and racism, which are important steps in changing ideas we have when it comes to our differences. We intend to open our visitors' minds to the science and their hearts to new ways of thinking about and acting on diversity."

In the exhibition, visitors explore the stories of race through three themes: the everyday experience of race, the contemporary science that is challenging common ideas about race, and the history of this idea in the United States. Details on each theme is included below:

Everyday Experience of Race


Throughout history, human differences have been a source of strength and personal identity. They have also been the basis for discrimination and oppression. Visitors learn about social and personal experiences of race in familiar settings such as home, neighborhood, health and education. Race and racism is not just a mindset. It is built into laws, traditions and institutions.

The Science of Human Variation


Racial categories are human-made. While differences are socially and culturally real, scientists have discovered that humans are more alike genetically than any other living species. This section focuses on what current science tells us about human variation and our species' history. Science says that humans share a common ancestry and what we are really seeing are natural variations, results of migration, marriage and adaptation to different environments.

History of the Idea of Race


Race has not always existed. Sorting people by their physical differences is only a few hundred years old. Visitors discover how the development of the idea of race is closely linked to early United States.

Exhibition highlights include exciting hands-on activities for all ages, with a focus on 5^th grade and older. Visitors delve into a dynamic 3-D animation, which takes its participant "inside" for an up-close look at their molecular selves. Visitors can also scan their skin and see their photo appear alongside the scans of other visitors' skin, and watch a colorful mosaic of tones appear. Another interactive station challenges visitors to match voices they hear with photos of people of different races to see if they can identify a person's race by their speech. Programming during the exhibition targets young as well as adult audiences and includes activities such as dance, music and storytelling.

Early planning to bring the exhibition to Rochester began in 2010. RMSC and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) took initial steps in putting Rochester on the map for the exhibition. Later, The Rochester Initiative for Structural Equality (RISE) Coalition (formed by Action for a Better Community in 2009) and RMSC together approached the Rochester Area Community Foundation for financial help in securing RACE: Are We So Different?. Through a generous $200,000 grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation, it was possible to host this powerful exhibition at RMSC.

From these initial efforts was born an extensive charge toward community change using RACE: Are We So Different? as the central component of racial communication and work toward racial equity. This community movement, Facing Race, Embracing Equity: Rochester's Racial Equity Initiative, is comprised of seven working committees created to bring the initiative to life. Each serve a role in communicating to audiences and creating programs and events that help provide a deep experience with the exhibition. Activities are designed to promote awareness about racial issues and foster meaningful conversations about how we can substantially improve our understanding of each other, identify pathways to alleviate structural inequity, and reduce disparities that exist in our community. Activities include talking circles, guest speakers, artistic events, professional development opportunities and facilitated classroom discussions. Some take place at the RMSC, and others are held at partner locations and beyond. Visit www.faceraceroc.org for more information, including the full community calendar of related events.

"We are extremely grateful for the generous gift from the Rochester Area Community Foundation, which is making it possible to bring this exhibition and community experience to Rochester," added Kate Bennett, president, RMSC. "We're honored to work with our many partners and are excited for the changes ahead."

The RMSC has a school scholarship fund, which is providing reduced admission fees to the exhibition, as well as busing for schools that lack travel and field study funding—particularly urban and rural school districts. Funding will support more than 2,500 school students. Facing Race, Embracing Equity partners are fundraising to help make it possible for additional students to experience the exhibition.

The RMSC provides materials for school curricula. The New York State curriculum mandates students to consider the issues of ethnicity and culture as part of the NYS learning standards across multiple levels in the K-12 curriculum.

Developed by the American Anthropological Association in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, RACE: Are We So Different? is the first nationally traveling exhibition to tell the stories of race from the biological, cultural, and historical points of view. Combining these perspectives offers an unprecedented look at race and racism in the United States.

The RMSC is open seven days a week. Regular hours are Sunday, 11am–5pm and Monday–Saturday, 9am–5pm. Regular hours are extended on selected dates for visitors' convenience. The exhibition is open from 9am–9pm on Thursdays, January 31, February 14, February 28, March 14, March 28 and April 25. Visit www.rmsc.org for the complete holiday hours schedule.

Admission to RACE: Are We So Different? is free with regular Museum admission: $13 adults, $12 seniors and college students with ID, $11 ages 3 to 18, free for RMSC members and children under 3.

The RACE: Are We So Different? lead sponsor is the Rochester Area Community Foundation. Presenting sponsor is ESL Federal Credit Union. Additional support comes from Monroe County. The media sponsor is Time Warner Cable, with extensive media partnership programming from WXXI public television and radio.

For high-resolution images and additional information, contact Debra Jacobson, Director of Marketing and Community Affairs, RMSC at (585)697-1944 or debra_jacobson@rmsc.org.

Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) receives major funding from Monroe County. RMSC includes a planetarium, nature center and science/regional history museum. The mission of the RMSC is to stimulate broad community interest and understanding of science and technology, and their impact—past, present, future—on our lives. For more information about RMSC, visit www.rmsc.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@rocRMSC).

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