This issue of Hand to Hand, a quarterly publication of the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), is dedicated to Cambio. It shares accessible introductions to Cambio’s core tools and approaches from our Investigators, as well as reflections and advice to museum practitioners from every Cambio organization, from California to New York, from Minnesota to Louisiana, and in between.
This white paper offers ideas to understand the complexity and diversity of Latino audiences for authentic engagement in any field, including informal science learning. It introduces four key ideas that speak to the need to shift from simplistic viewpoints to more holistic perspectives which acknowledge culture as dynamic and fluid, view audiences in more complex ways that reflect on the intersections of identities and experiences, and engage in practices that deepen our own cultural competencies.
This article was the result of ideas initially developed and presented by the authors at the Generating Engagement and New Initiatives for All Latinos Summit (GENIAL). Latino Audiences was one of several themed strands addressed during the Summit held on June 5–6, 2017.
In this celebratory exploration of the Cambio experience, participants reflect on the project’s cohort model of professional development and organizational change toward increasing Latinx engagement in museums and science centers. The organizers lay out the Cambio framework and highlight themes embedded in the culminating summit’s keynote presentations, such as the importance of centering relationships in equity work, the ways STEM knowledge is embedded in culture and community, and what shifts in organizational practice came about as a result of participating in the project.
A true example of self-determination and co-creation, this article was written by Cambio faculty Dr. Isabel Hawkins and long time mentor-collaborator, Yucatec Maya Elder Doña María Ávila Vera. This article introduces the concept of Comunalidad, a holistic approach to STEM as a culturally relevant and sustaining practice for the community, which is central to the Cambio approach. This is the first known instance of the concept of Comunalidad being shared in English with an American audience.
Hawkins, I., and Ávila Vera, M. 2021. “Engaging Latinx Audiences through the Cultural Roots of STEM.” Informal Learning Review (165): 3-10.
