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.
Cambio’s vision was for organizations to shift their practices at all levels by examining three intersecting areas that have cultural dimensions: Latinx communities, STEM, and organizational practices.
As part of the Cambio model, we developed these three strands, showing how they can be interwoven to guide practitioners and organizations in equity-based efforts. This formed the basis for curricular development within the Cambio Project.
This framework for thinking about dimensions of diversity can be used to encourage thinking about values, beliefs, and dimensions of identity for people and organizations.
In 1990, Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener developed a framework for thinking about the different dimensions of diversity within individuals and institutions. Depicted as concentric circles, this “Diversity Wheel” can be used in many different ways to encourage thinking about values, beliefs, and dimensions of identity for people and organizations.
Adapted from “Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource,” McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 1990, we’ve included the wheel here as a graphic and as a pdf for your use. The following outline possible ways to use the Diversity Wheel with staff to encourage dialogue and new perspective taking.
Facilitation: After spending time looking at the wheel, invite participants to write down 5 things that describe who they are—the top five things they think of when they think to describe themselves. (Ideally, you’ve passed out post-it notes and can encourage staff to write one characteristic on each of 5 post-it notes. Also, the descriptions don’t have to line up with the categories on the wheel, but it can be helpful to think of them that way.) Invite participants to locate their characteristics on the Diversity Wheel and then talk with one or two other people about how they identified themselves and what they noticed when they tried to put their characteristics into the areas of the wheel.
Learn about the Cambio experience through the firsthand insights and voices of our faculty and participants.
This four-part series of videos illuminates how (and why) of Cambio by using concrete examples and real participants to walk viewers through the central tenets and tools of the program. The series is structured around our three Cambio strands and highlights the six Cambio Spokes.
Video Playlist
What Is Cambio?
Join Veronica Garcia-Luis, Principal Investigator, to learn about the Cambio approach and mission—to help organizations shift their practices with the goal of creating STEM experiences that are culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining to Latinx communities.
Why Focus on Latinx communities?
Join faculty member Ann Hernandez and four Cambio alumni– Jean Franco (Frankie) Molina, Max Cawley, Odalys Lugo Morales, and Oscar Neira–sharing insights into the individual, organizational and community value of working with their Latinx communities. Learn about the Latinx communities strand of the project and how Cambio spurred shifts in thinking and practice.
What Is Comunalidad?
Join Co-Investigator Dr. Isabel Hawkins who shares a concrete example of how one informal science learning organization evolved their STEM practice with and for their community. Learn what is Comunalidad, and how the Cultural Expressions of STEM strand of Cambio supports authentic science practice.
How Does an Organization Make Shifts?
Join Co-Investigator Jenni Martin and executive leaders from three informal science learning institutions–Hilary Van Alsburg (Children’s Museum Tucson | Oro Valley), Monica Ramsey (The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis), Priya Mohabir (New York Hall of Science)–who share concrete examples of changes in their organizational thinking and practice. Learn about the Organizational Shifts strand of the project and the Cambio Spokes tool for catalyzing action.
The Cambio project created a framework for museums to think about engaging more effectively with communities, especially those who have been marginalized or underrepresented in the museum’s audience. Developed with a focus on helping museums become more relevant, responsive, and sustaining to Latinx communities, the framework is designed to encourage museum professionals to think about six areas that they might strengthen and build from in this work. Focused on creating more equitable and inclusive museum environments for both visitors and staff, the Spokes framework also incorporates the three strands of Cambio.
While developed with Latinx communities in mind, the Spokes framework is relevant for many different communities museums might want to engage with, especially those who have been marginalized.
This article in the Informal Learning Review (ILR) introduces Comunalidad as a powerful lens for reimagining Latinx engagement in STEM. Dr. Isabel Hawkins highlights how this framework can inform more inclusive and culturally sustaining STEM practices in informal science learning ISL—through exhibit design, programming, communications, and practitioner professional development. Drawing from museum-based examples, we explore how the components of Comunalidad can honor Latinx cultural expressions of STEM and challenge dominant paradigms.
The Comunalidad framework was originally developed by a group of Indigenous Zapotec academics from Oaxaca, Mexico, to describe their communities’ way of life. Cambio adapted Comunalidad to the museum context to serve as a tool for weaving STEM and Latinx cultural practices together. Focusing on the four pillars of Relationship to Place, Reciprocity, Self-Determination, and Feast/Fiesta, the framework invites museums and their staff to become more community-centered in service of co-creating culturally relevant and sustaining STEM learning experiences.
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.
Language matters – the words we use affect our own understanding and our conversations with others. The words and definitions highlighted here come up frequently in discussions about equity, community engagement, and belonging. These definitions come from a variety of sources, and have been helpful to Cambio leadership and participating museums as they work to be more relevant to Latinx communities. We recommend looking at this list with others from your organization and engaging in conversation; the dialogue can be very helpful in sorting through different perspectives on issues that arise.
Please note: these definitions were written in 2025. Language is a living thing, so we encourage you to be reflective and responsive to your communities as these terms and their meaning evolve over time.
