The Tech Interactive
We’ll continue to focus on developing cultural competency, expanding our culturally inclusive programs, and exploring non-Western science content.
The Tech Interactive
Annual operating budget: $10 million–$19.9 million
Total number of employees: 133
Annual visitorship: 200,000
**Numbers reported in FY22 (July 2021–June 2022)
Our plan: Listen, reflect, and co-create with community
As The Tech embarked on a major expansion, we set out to design a space that would feel welcoming to all and rooted in community input. Spurred by our mission to inspire the innovator in everyone, we prioritized culturally relevant spaces and experiences, especially for those historically underrepresented in STEM careers and impacted by systemic inequities. Through Cambio, we deepened our approach to community listening, re-evaluated our assumptions, and began prototyping changes based on what we heard.
Our projects: Centering community and culture
Throughout our design process, we centered the voices of historically marginalized communities to ensure that our new and existing spaces met their needs and perspectives. Our goal was not only to welcome full participation in the conversations our exhibits and events inspire, but to co-create what those conversations and experiences should be.
Based on what we heard, we adjusted our expansion plans, partnered with community organizations on events and programming, and created staff resources to share best practices for authentic community engagement. One powerful example came from our conversations with Indigenous partners. We had initially considered including the history of innovation of local Indigenous groups, but then heard from tribal members that they wished to be represented as they live now, not just as historical artifacts. They also identified tribal recognition as a priority. Hearing their feedback meaningfully shifted our plan, and we explored designing an exhibit around how genetics might be used to reestablish extinct Indigenous tribes.
We developed new tools to evaluate visitors’ feelings of welcoming and belonging, and laid out a two-year plan for staff training in cultural competency. With this culturally focused approach, we launched our Community Advisory Committee, so that our local Latine and Vietnamese communities could (and continue to) advise us on visitor experience, multilingual access, marketing, and inclusion efforts.
Our takeaways: Authentic commitment, expansive vision
We’ll continue to focus on developing cultural competency, expanding our culturally inclusive programs, and exploring non-Western science content. Among our key learnings are:
- Listening helps us challenge our assumptions and biases.
- Trust is built when we are present for our communities. Showing up matters.
- Including non-Western perspectives on STEM brings rich relevance to our exhibits
Along with community listening, we’re using our internal knowledge to create plans and actionable changes to better serve the communities we hope to connect with more deeply.
To read other museums’ stories of change, visit our Cambio Stories page.
