Changemaker Catalyst Award recipient Jasmine Gloria organized a three day museum trip in the summer of 2018 for students in her community of Waukegan, IL. She is interested in learning how to make academia and museums more accessible to underrepresented and disadvantaged communities. Jasmine is majoring in Anthropology and Latin American Studies with a minor in Art History.
THE COMMUNITY: Waukegan, IL is where my journey of changemaking begins. You’ve probably never heard of this awesome community nestled on Lake Michigan that is north of Chicago and minutes away from Wisconsin, but it’s my hometown and has played a large part in my growth as an academic due to the school district I graduated from. I love Waukegan, but it’s academic situation is not ideal. According to the 2017 Illinois District Report Card:
- 93.4% of our students are minorities (79% Hispanic and 14.4% Black)
- 70% are classified as low income
- 23% are prepared for college level work
- 47% attend college upon graduation
- 7.9% meet ACT benchmarks on all four subjects
These numbers and the experience I have had in this district are what inspire me to make academia more accessible. I know that these students are highly capable and possess a wide array of skills, but they often lack the resources more well-off communities have access to when it comes to going to college or finding a successful career. I remember that going to museums in my free time was instrumental in inspiring me to study what I do, yet museums are not accessible for the vast majority of Waukegan. Just because I managed to ‘survive’ and attend an institution as great as Tulane does not mean I will forget about my roots. Thankfully, I am not the only Waukeganite who has this drive and that leads me to some other awesome people I want to give a shout out to.
THE CHAPERONES: All were alumni of Waukegan Pubic Schools and some of my closest friends. They too want to see their community improve and they eagerly accepted my invitation to participate in this summer experience. I thought the students would benefit greatly from meeting and interacting alumni who believe in them and care deeply about their success. The alumni all come from different schools and study different things, but they all pulled through to be a crucial part of the field trips!
THE STUDENTS: Almost all students were from Waukegan Public Schools and many told me they had never been to some of the museums we were visiting before. Some had gone, but said they didn’t enjoy their experience because they were weighed down by nagging teachers and boring worksheets. The age of the students ranged from 6 to 17 and students were organized in groups of older and younger kids
A large number of students participated through the United Futbol Club Goes to College Program. United Futbol Club (UFC) is a local soccer club whose mission is to develop players, support families and transform lives through soccer. This program also happens to be run by my dad (helping others is in our blood!) and so when I first developed the idea to take kids from our community to museums, he asked me if he could advertise the event to his players. I said yes because the majority of these kids were from Waukegan anyways and others came from communities similar to Waukegan so as long as I was able to offer students the chance to go to a museum, I was happy! Coach Sal and Jose tagged along on all our trips as extra chaperones and they learned just as much as the kids were from the museums!
DAY 1: Field Museum of Natural History
We began our experience to my personal favorite museum. After providing the students with water, snacks, and loading up the bus with about 100 home-made sandwiches, we made our journey to see some sweet dinosaur fossils and come face to face with ancient cultures.
We separated the day into two parts: free exploration of the museum and a guided tour of the Ancient America’s exhibit. During the free exploration, the students were unleashed to see whatever they wanted to and ask as many questions as possible. The dinosaur hall was a big hit and the chaperones were challenged to explain concepts they themselves weren’t experts on such as how fish evolved to become dinosaurs.
During the Ancient America’s tour, I put myself to the test and guided the groups through the exhibit because it’s the area I study here at Tulane. We learned about mammoth hunting, the importance of corn, what Teotihuacan actually is, and how to ‘read’ the Aztec sun stone. The younger kids were full of questions and observations while the older kids were able to learn more about some sites they had visited in Mexico or images they had always seen. We finished the day having a picnic outside within view of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline!
Quotes of the day:
“Isn’t that obsidian?! I know that from Minecraft!”
“Did the Maya have a lot of steps on their pyramids to get a good exercise on?”
DAY 2: Museum of Science and Industry
Next up was the Museum of Science and Industry where the students learned about everything from the science of animation to the engineering of a captured Nazi submarine. Students were allowed to explore freely with their chaperones and the day was full of hands-on learning! Day 2 hit a bit of a problem as Mexico was playing in the World Cup on that day and so naturally Coach Sal, one of our devoted chaperones, brought a Bluetooth speaker to broadcast the game on the bus. Mexico somehow pulled through and the students were riding on that energy throughout the day.
My group really enjoyed getting to go inside a hurricane wind machine and attempting to pilot a submarine in simulator game that had the entire group trying not to get their ship sunk. We learned that wind is a powerful force of nature and that none of the kids have a future in piloting Nazi submarines which I’m not sure is a good thing or bad thing. We also watched the miracle of life and witnessed the hatching of some chickens while learning about what DNA is.
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
“I haven’t been to this museum yet but this is my favorite museum because I love science and this museum is about science!”
“Are we gonna get to fly in the indoor tornado?!”
Day 3: The Art Institute of Chicago
We ended our trip with a bang at the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the greatest art museums in the world! I had spent the previous week participating in the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Summer Academy here where I learned about how museums function from the inside. I learned a lot of things that helped me in understanding what needs to be done to make museums accessible for all.
In order to really engage the students in this museum, which is not as hands-on as the Field Museum or Museum of Science and Industry, I decided to create a World-Cup themed scavenger hunt for the students. They were challenged to find a piece for every participating country and then some. This helped the students learn a bit of geography while also teaching them about world cultures.
I chaperoned an older group of boys who were hesitant to sign up for the trip, but the moment I told them it was going to have a World Cup themed challenge, they were on board. The boys were very competitive and managed to find everything with no help from me! I was really proud of them because they took charge of their own learning and some of them even wanted to explore galleries that didn’t have pieces they were looking for. It was a great end to a great week! Enjoy some of the selfies the students took as proof of finding pieces!
Quotes of the Day:
“Why is this fun? We’re in a museum!
“We’re in the Asian hall of ceramics but what does that have to do with South Korea?!” (They eventually learned where South Korea is)
aka we learn what German ladies looked like in the middle ages
Closing Thoughts:
Our museum week was a HUGE success and I had many students ask me throughout the visits if we were going to do this again next year. The museum week was also done with an alumni-run symposium where alumni presented what they’re doing in college to the students. I’m dedicated to making sure both of these programs return to aid Waukegan students next summer! I am also interested in figuring out how museums such as the ones we visited can become more accessible and better communicators using the feedback I received from students and insights I noticed during our trips. Overall, this is an experience I am eager to continue and it was thanks to the Taylor Center that we were able to have such an awesome week at Chicago museums!