By Lucas Schoeppner

For the most part, the Museum of Science is an engaging, but mild-mannered, place. Math dioramas and a butterfly garden attract many school field trips and families with young children. However, a new temporary exhibit at the museum is tackling a controversial subject: race.

Through interactive components, historical artifacts, compelling photographs and multimedia presentations, museum-goers can learn the story of race through biological, cultural and historical points of view. The exhibit addresses race and racism from three distinct yet interconnected perspectives:  science, history and everyday experience.

Dr. Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, an anthropologist who advised the development of the exhibit, said it is first important to understand the science of race in a detached, unemotional way, which is where facts and statistics come into play.

In the science section, visitors will discover that because human beings have the lowest genetic variation, they are more alike than any other living species. In other words, two humans are more genetically similar than two emperor penguins, two chimpanzees, or two fruit flies, reads an MOS Press Release.

“This installation makes a really important point. There’s so little genetic variation among human beings, it’s all social; racism and nationalism are things I can do without,” said NU student Tim Martin, who visited the exhibit recently.

Next is the history section, which provides explanation of how economic interests, popular culture, science, politics and the struggle for power have played a role in shaping people’s understanding of race.

“We must think about race through the experience of our own country, which has been a defining factor since the beginning of our history,” Suarez-Orozco said. “From the arrival of the native people 10,000 years ago, to the first Europeans, to the mass migration of involuntary immigrants — slaves from Africa. Then came the trans-oceanic migration, bringing people like the Irish to Boston, New York and Chicago. Now we’re in the middle of what is possibly the biggest wave, from places like Latin America and Asia.”

Lastly, in the everyday experience section, visitors can explore the personal side of race and its impact on communities, schools, businesses, healthcare systems and even the entertainment industry and the world of amateur and professional sports.

Though the exhibit promotes the concept of race as a social construct, it acknowledges that the repercussions of racism are very real, especially in a city like Boston, which has a spotty reputation when it comes to race relations.

“In Massachusetts, in Boston, everywhere in the US, differences in wealth and health depend on what race you are,” Alan Goodman, president of the American Anthropological Association, said at the exhibit. “The average life expectancy is six to seven years different between blacks and whites in the US, which is really a big difference. Infant mortality is also two times higher in African-American babies, which is really quite deplorable.”

The RACE exhibit is not the only social issue the Museum of Science has addressed; it also recently featured a presentation on the issue of heavy air pollution in minority-dominated Boston neighborhoods such as Chinatown.

“Though some visitors have questioned the exhibit’s ties to science, the Boston community was eager to talk about their experiences with bussing and the race riots,” said Marie Ledger, an employee at the Museum of Science. “We interviewed nearly 200 people, samples of which were used to create a soundscape installation by the sound artist Halsey Burgund this past month.”

Despite the issues that still surround race and racism, Suarez-Orozco sees reason to be proud.
“Now in cities like New York, kids from over 100 countries get into buses and subways each morning and go to school together. This has never happened before … this [diversity] is a mirror of who we are as a species.”

“RACE: Are We So Different?” will be on display in the Museum of Science until Sunday, May 15. Admission to RACE is included with regular Exhibit Halls admission, which costs $21 per day, and can be visited weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Fridays.