Africa
In Their Own Voices (2010)
National Museums of Kenya, Lamu
Cincinnati Museum Center
With the help of museums and local community members, children in Cincinnati and Lamu learn to document oral histories and traditions with digital and virtual tools. As they discover more about their own cultural heritage, they share their stories and learn from those of their peers abroad.
Community of Conservation: Research Exchange Experiences for Global Youth (2011)
National Museum of Niger, Boubou Hama, Niamey
Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago
Middle school students conduct original conservation research projects that explore concepts in animal behavior and ecological biodiversity. As they share their findings, they learn about the similarities and differences between their local wildlife experiences and their cultures.
International Legacy Youth Leadership Project (2010)
The Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Mandela House, Soweto, South Africa
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute*, Ala.
Youth from Alabama and South Africa explore the parallels between the civil rights movement in Birmingham and the anti-apartheid struggle in Soweto, the role of youth in promoting social change and the implications of their societies’ past on contemporary life.
Dear Mr. Mandela, Dear Ms. Parks (2008)
Nelson Mandela Museum, Mthatha, South Africa
Michigan State University Museum*, East Lansing
Using letters written by children to Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela, the two museums and their partner communities raised awareness of the deep parallels between the struggles for racial justice in the United States and South Africa.
Young Women Speaking the Economy (2010)
The Women’s Museum, Aarhus, Denmark
The Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines
Sudanese Women's Museum, Omdurman, Sudan
International Museum of Women, San Francisco
Young women from four countries used social media and online applications to discuss their perspectives on everything from careers and work-life balance to weathering financial hardship and combating gender discrimination.
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The Americas
Inside/Outside/North & South (2008)
El Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore, La Paz, Bolivia
Gallery "Casa del Caballero Aguila," Puebla, Mexico
Museo de las Americas, Denver
High school students from local majority and minority ethnic groups created visual, oral and literary components representing their personal experiences with stereotyping and prejudice for a multimedia art exhibition that traveled to all three museums.
Rainforest Leadership Academy: Cross-Cultural Teacher Training and Mentoring (2011)
Maloka, Bogota, Colombia
California Science Center*, Los Angeles
Mentor teachers from urban- and rainforest-based school districts collaboratively develop materials for teacher trainings and student activities. As the teachers train their colleagues in inquiry-based science lessons, cross-cultural teams of students share information about the diversity of the rainforests and cultures in their regions.
From the Adirondacks to the Middle of the World (2010)
Museo de la Ciudad, Quito, Ecuador
World Awareness Children’s Museum, Glens Falls, N.Y.
Middle schoolers in New York and Ecuador use art and video conferencing to explore the challenges faced by their communities and their own role in addressing them. The partners will develop traveling culture kits filled with art, videos and an associated curriculum to be exchanged and used for the museums’ outreach programs in other middle schools.
Sharing Biodiversity and Culture (2010)
Tin Marín Children’s Museum, San Salvador, El Salvador
The Discovery Museums, Acton, Mass.
Using art, autobiographies and video conferencing, third and fourth graders in these two countries learn about one another’s cultures and traditions, explore the biodiversity of their regions, and expand their knowledge of the environmental concerns in their local communities.
Two Museums, Two Nations, One Identity (2011)
Museo de Arte de El Salvador, San Salvador
Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C.
Youth in El Salvador and Salvadoran-American youth use art as a means to communicate about themes such as self, family, tradition, community and migration while creating awareness of their personal and collective identities and cultural heritage.
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Central and South Asia
We, the People: Afghanistan, America & the Minority Imprint (2009)
National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul
National Constitution Center*, Philadelphia
A diverse group of high school students from Philadelphia and Afghanistan captured images reflecting their interpretations of concepts such as dissent, freedom and democracy in their countries. The photos turned into an exhibition that highlighted the amazing similarities the students found between citizens of these two very different multiethnic societies.
Indo-U.S. Science Center Diversity (2008)
National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata, India
Science City, Bangalore, India
New York Hall of Science, Queens
Museum staff worked together to increase access to science and science-education careers for underrepresented youth in both countries by sharing youth-program best practices and creating new and innovative demonstrations to improve the experiences of young volunteers and audiences.
Nuclear Weapons Testing Legacy: The Tale of Two Cultures (2011)
Karaganda Ecological Museum, Kazakhstan
National Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, Nev.
Students living near former nuclear-testing sites collect oral histories and radiation data, interpret the lingering effects of the testing and explore how their two very different societies respond to their common challenges.
Promoting Volunteerism in Dushanbe (2008)
Dushanbe Zoo, Tajikistan
Black Pine Animal Park, Albion, Ind.
After one of their Tajik pen pals was injured while visiting the Dushanbe Zoo, students in Fort Wayne, Ind. found a nearby sponsor organization, the Black Pine Animal Park, with whom they could work to help the zoo prevent future accidents. Partners developed youth-run volunteer corps to improve the safety of the animal exhibits and provide a more family-friendly visitor experience at both locations.
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East Asia and Pacific
Carrying Traditions Across the Waters of Time: Ainu & Pacific Northwest Cultural Collaborations (2009)
Ainu Association of Hokkaido, Sapporo, Japan
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture*, Seattle
With a shared desire to preserve their unique cultures in a fast-paced, technologically advanced world, tribal representatives from indigenous coastal communities in Washington State and Sapporo, Japan worked together to preserve and promote traditional cultural knowledge for future generations.
Young Women Speaking the Economy (2010)
The Women’s Museum, Aarhus, Denmark
The Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines
Sudanese Women's Museum, Omdurman, Sudan
International Museum of Women, San Francisco
Young women from four countries used social media and online applications to discuss their perspectives on everything from careers and work-life balance to weathering financial hardship and combating gender discrimination.
iShare: Connecting Museums and Communities East and West (2010)
National Taiwan Museum, Taipei City
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History*, Boulder
Two indigenous communities—Navajo Nation in the U.S. and the Paiwan people of Taiwan—guide the development of iShare, a collaborative online application intended to provide remote access to collections of tribal objects, document aspects of intangible cultural heritage and share information with the public.
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Europe and Eurasia
Navigating Difference: Transatlantic Dialogues on Immigration (2010)
Le Bois du Cazier, Marcinelle, Belgium
Galata Maritime Museum, Genoa, Italy
International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, New York
Ellis Island Immigration Museum*, New York
Members of three immigrant communities share their experiences of identity, assimilation and discrimination through dialogue and public programs while an interactive installation at each museum collects visitors' personal reflections and opinions on immigration.
Young Women Speaking the Economy (2010)
The Women’s Museum, Aarhus, Denmark
The Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines
Sudanese Women's Museum, Omdurman, Sudan
International Museum of Women, San Francisco
Young women from four countries used social media and online applications to discuss their perspectives on everything from careers and work-life balance to weathering financial hardship and combating gender discrimination.
Connecting Finnish and Adirondack Communities (2010)
Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa
The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, N.Y.
Responding to a shared concern about the effects of climate change on their winter cultures, lifestyles and economies, museums and communities in the Adirondacks and Finland joined forces to increase awareness and explore how they can work to limit the impact of this trend.
Building a Transatlantic Bridge (2010)
LVR-Industriemuseum, Oberhausen, Germany
Westmoreland Museum of American Art*, Greensburg, Pa.
Connected by their common industrial heritage, high school students in Greensburg and Oberhausen embarked on numerous projects that link the two similar communities. One of the projects, in which the students used blank journals as a platform to share art, poetry and stories about themselves and their cities, formed the basis of student-curated and marketed exhibitions in both museums.
Not Just Another Building on the Street (2011)‡
Not Just Another Brick in the Wall: Engaging Italian & American Teens (2009)
Parco Astronomico InfiniTo, Pino Torinese, Italy
Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center, Shreveport, La.
Two years after Italian and American teens collaborated on a planetarium rock opera that reflected both their individual cultures and their knowledge of science and technology, astronomy teachers in the two regions have connected to develop a planetarium program that addresses educational needs in their classrooms and provides students with formal and informal learning opportunities.
At the Table: Connecting Culture, Conversation and Service in Latvia and the U.S. (2011)
National History Museum of Latvia, Riga
National Constitution Center*, Philadelphia
Through oral histories with community leaders, service projects and meaningful dialogues, high school students work together to increase understanding across cultures, foster a sense of civic responsibility and inspire acts of civic engagement.
Water: Using the Common Tie that Binds (2009)
Bendery City Museum of Ethnography & Natural History, Bendery, Moldova
Rodger Ehnstrom Nature Center, Wahpeton, N.Dak.
Residents of river cities in North Dakota and Moldova joined forces to learn how to better manage their waterways, raise awareness of water conservation and evaluate its impact on their environments, cultures and sustainability.
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Middle East and North Africa
Watch Your Waste e-Museum (2011)
The Children’s Museum Jordan, Amman
Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Mich.
To call attention to the worldwide dilemma of increasing waste production and foster solutions, middle school students act as amateur archaeologists, photographing, filming and describing their own families’ garbage and researching how the approach to waste has changed over generations.
Identities: Understanding Islam in a Cross-Cultural Context (2011)‡
Creating Community Collaboration (2009)
Ben M’Sik Community Museum, Casablanca, Morocco
Museum of History and Holocaust Education, Kennesaw, Ga.
Citizens of Georgia and Casablanca explore what it means to be Muslim in the US and Morocco by collecting oral histories and sharing their findings with members of their own communities and with their partners abroad in hopes of moving beyond stereotypes and judgment.
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* Accredited by the American Association of Museums
‡ Continuing project building upon past successes of a previous partnership
