Explora
Through Cambio, we adopted some new language, especially related to experimentation and cultural relevance, that we can use when engaging with new partner organizations with whom we don’t yet have a strong relationship.
Explora
Annual operating budget: $5 million to $9.9 million
Total number of employees: 120
Annual visitorship: 387,937
**Numbers reported in 2019
About Cambio’s first cohort
Cambio’s first cohort included Children’s Discovery Museum (CDM), Exploratorium, and Explora, each of which had a longstanding commitment to community engagement, as well as strong ties and experience co-creating with their local Latinx communities. These organizations were asked to pilot and help co-develop the first version of the Cambio curriculum and a modified version of the program model. Developing a new cohort experience in partnership with these three museums reflected two important aspects of the Cambio model—that of experiential learning and co-creation.
2020: Cambio’s Pilot Year
Cambio’s first cohort year unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Museums were closed to the public while juggling local health mandates (and, eventually, operational requirements for reopening), remote work, lay-offs, and financial strain. The nation also grappled with George Floyd’s murder, as individuals and institutions navigated their commitment to and communication about diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Before Cambio kicked off in 2020, Explora’s focus on community listening and response was already deeply respected in the museum field and had inspired many other institutions to do similar work.
The Cambio impact: Going deep with one community
At Explora, we have long focused on welcome and belonging, and community has been a core value since opening our doors. However, Cambio gave us an opportunity to hone in on one particular audience–the Latinx audience. It was a valuable experience because it gave us the resources to dive deep into the needs and wants of a particular community that also happens to be one of our biggest audiences here in New Mexico. It is always wonderful to have a cohort of people to learn with; our cohort’s wisdom and knowledge opened us up as learners. We benefited from our individual experiences as well as those at different institutions, and it gave us the sense that we’re always learning.
Our projects: Internal growth and tomorrow’s STEM scholars
Having difficult internal conversations during our Cambio year resulted in changes that were as rich and impactful as our externally-facing projects. We came out of those conversations able to listen better internally, with a thicker skin, and more comfortable having hard conversations. Cambio made that difference for us, and in some ways this was the most significant result of our participation.
In some ways our work with Cambio made us realize we had been taking our Latinx audience for granted because they made up a majority of the audience at many of our existing school programs. However, Cambio gave us opportunities to learn more about our relevance to microcommunities with diverse backgrounds. Cambio inspired us to try some new things. For example, through our new teen center, called X Studio, we started a program called STEM Scholars, an annual competitive scholarship program offering $2,500 to high school seniors who will go on to post-secondary education in a STEM field in New Mexico. We recognize these scholars each year at our annual donor societies event. Additionally, we held listening sessions with Latinx-majority groups, such as Sawmill Community Land Trust, Wells Park Neighborhood Association, Nurse Family Partnership, Partnership for Community Action, Horizons Albuquerque, Valle Vista Elementary, YDI, and Fathers New Mexico, just to name a few. These listening sessions have led to new initiatives, such as bilingual outdoor learning experiences in a nearby park and a Youth Summit on the Future with Latinx teens.
Our takeaways: Connect by trying something new
Through Cambio, we adopted some new language, especially related to experimentation and cultural relevance, that we can use when engaging with new partner organizations with whom we don’t yet have a strong relationship. Other significant learnings:
- change is scary—”just trying things out” can be a less threatening approach
- set aside fear and discomfort of being an outsider to connect with new audiences
- show up at other’s events—and invite others in—as a regular institutional practice
- merging cultural knowledge with STEAM education can enrich community relevance
Here in Albuquerque, we center our work with our communities—starting in small circles and growing outward–and experience daily the positive ways in which it comes back to us.
To read other museums’ stories of change, visit our Cambio Stories page.
