At KID Museum, we believe that kids have the power to create a better future – and that goes well beyond creating new inventions and gadgets.
Our work centers around cultivating the “mind of a maker,” a mindset that combines creativity with a drive to make the world a better place. While we teach kids how to code or use a 3D printer, just as importantly, we teach them how to practice empathy, embrace diverse ideas, and see themselves as makers of culture and social change.
There’s a famous truism that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” – and the past couple of years have certainly reinforced this lesson. At the height of the pandemic, when everyone should have been pulling together, we instead confronted the persistent negative force of hatred, bigotry, and violence. Culture wars play out in our schools and in our communities – and our kids are watching and taking it all in.
We urgently need to give kids better tools to move the needle as culture makers and changemakers of the future. At KID Museum, we believe we can apply our maker mindset not just to making new inventions, but to hack our collective operating system – the culture of how we treat one another and function in the world.
That’s why we’re proud to have recently teamed up with Nickelodeon and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation to give teachers and families tangible, hands-on ways to combat hate and promote social change. Nickelodeon’s national Talk and Take Action initiative offers resources for parents and educators to help kids develop awareness of social issues such as hate, discrimination, and racism, and — importantly — to show kids how they can take action to make meaningful change. As co-creators of the Talk and Take Action: Challenging Latinx Discrimination guides, KID Museum and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation move the conceptual to the concrete with hands-on maker activities that provide kids with a deeper understanding of Latinx culture and anti-Latinx prejudice, and offer engaging ways to take action.
At KID Museum, we see culture as constructed; something kids can actively practice and create. Hands-on maker activities with real-world implications encourage meaningful connections, giving kids (and their adults) the tools to drive social change. Let’s help our kids to see themselves as culture makers, capable of making a world that’s inclusive and built on a foundation of empathy and mutual respect.
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Nickelodeon’s Talk and Take Action toolkits are designed to engage and empower young people to take on tough issues. Parents and educators are encouraged to explore, create, and engage with kids.
Here’s your access to the Parents’ and Caregivers’ Guide to Challenging Latinx/Hispanic Discrimination and the Educators’ Guide to Challenging Latinx/Hispanic Discrimination.
Enjoy culture-making hands-on activities at KID Museum’s Latinx Heritage edition of the Maker Playground.
Click here to find out more about the partnership between KID Museum, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and Nickelodeon.
