I enjoyed reading this chapter because I feel it hit a point that many of us neglect inadvertently when we think about science or education, or most topics for that matter. This chapter discussed trying to make science learning environments, specifically museums, more compatible for those who are not of the dominant culture. A lot of people that are not of the dominant white culture in America do not feel comfortable going to a museum for several reasons. There may be a language barrier that would almost ensure that if such a person went to a museum, he or she wouldn’t be able to learn anything. There may be a cultural discrepancy in the learning environment. For example, the chapter discussed how in Vietnamese culture, learning and play are considered two completely separate entities (124). Going to a museum would not be an enjoyable outing because in their minds, it would be going to a boring place where they would have to learn science in a mundane fashion.

The chapter discussed 3 steps by which one would create a more compatible experience for those who come from nondominant cultures: Draw on cultural practices of the learners, Develop bi- or multi-cultural labels, and build relationships with the community (129). It is important to remember that simply changing the label of an exhibit from English and adding another 2 or 3 languages to it does not make a museum more cultured and tailored to other nondominant cultures. One would have to do some research and understand what it is that draws, for example, the Vietnamese into their museums. In some cases it might require hiring someone from the native culture who understands what will make the museum more compatible for people of his culture. For example, the Children’s Diversity Museum (CDM) added an exhibit about the Vietnamese round boat, a staple of Vietnamese culture (124). This exhibit naturally caught the attention of many Vietnamese visiting CDM because it made them feel at home and perhaps even surprised them that the museum had knowledge of this boat. One visitor remarked, “The round boat reminds me of the area where I used to live in Vietnam. This kind of boat is popular in the middle of the country. In the mornings, I used to walk to the beach to see the fish, shrimps, or crabs unloaded from these boats. The bamboo, the pulley, and the rice sieve on the wall all remind me of the good times in Vietnam” (124). I thought this was a great example of drawing the culture of the people and making them feel remembered.

Naturally, I think there are many challenges. It is not cheap to go out and try to make specific exhibits for people of different cultures, and it also brings into question which cultures you want to tailor your museum to. I think it is also difficult to do this without making the people feel like subjects. It is difficult to make evoke a genuine response out of people because I think most people would be suspicious that this is just being done for the sake of money. Lastly, I do not think this will be commonly practiced because of the society we live in. Nowadays, it is difficult to do something like this because even if you have the right intentions, it has to be something that will have a high reward and I think the highest reward will always come from tailoring to the dominant culture, not the nondomninant ones.