EXPLORA News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Explora has partnered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the second consecutive year to bring New Mexico an impactful celebration commemorating the 8th Annual National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH), which was created by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as an annual celebration to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day (http://dayofracialhealing.org/).
Racial healing builds trust and authentic relationships, bridging divides within communities; it is a critical path for ending racial bias and creating a society in which all children can thrive. As a community center dedicated to family learning, bonding, and growth, Explora is honored to facilitate a series of free events for discussion and reflection.
Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 16, 4-8 p.m., the public can join Explora for a NDORH kick-off event, featuring guest speakers, a flamenco dance performance by the National Institute of Flamenco & Conservatory of Flamenco Arts, dinner, and a “watch party” for the prime-time televised town hall on Noticias Telemundo (in Spanish, with English translation), broadcast in partnership with NBCUniversal, which discusses the advancement of racial equality through the experiences of healing and collaboration. A bilingual, facilitated discussion will conclude the evening. This event is free, but registration is required: https://esccma.explora.us/performance.aspx?pid=72436
On both Wednesday, Jan. 17 and Thursday, Jan. 18, visitors can enjoy Community Days at Explora, featuring tables with information from our partners at the City of Albuquerque’s Office of African-American Affairs, Office of Arts and Culture, and Office of Equity and Inclusion; Partnership for Community Action; and many others. A number of schools will visit Explora for field trips and engaging science and art experiences.
On Thursday Jan. 18, 4-8 p.m., Explora will host a free “Healing Together” Theater Night for teens and adults. Featuring Two Worlds and High Desert Playback, personal Indigenous and Black stories will be shared, along with interactive reflection and resource sharing. Dinner will be provided by Three Sisters Kitchen. This event is free, but registration is required: https://www.highdesertplayback.com/healing
Sunday, Jan. 21, noon-6 p.m., teens will gather in Explora’s X Studio for the Teen Summit on Racial Healing, sharing their own stories and experiences, enjoying creative activities and reflection, and advancing equity together. The agenda includes lunch and swag, roundtable discussions, performances, and hands-on activities promoting growth, understanding, and community. This event is free, but registration is required: https://esccma.explora.us/performance.aspx?pid=72437
About Explora and X Studio
Explora is a science center and children’s museum in Albuquerque, with a mission of creating opportunities for inspirational discovery and the joy of lifelong learning through interactive experiences in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). Explora serves thousands of people of all backgrounds each year and is dedicated to improving New Mexico’s educational and economic outcomes. The museum has 20,000 square feet of exhibit space on two floors, containing over 250 interactive exhibits that cover a broad range of science, technology and art. Notable exhibits include a laminar flow fountain, a paradox bar, and a high-wire bike suspended two stories above ground. The building also houses a performance theater, gift store, multiple educational program areas, and an in-house exhibits workshop. In addition, Explora offers year-round educational in-house and outreach programs, science-based Adult Nights, and community partnership events.
X Studio, an 8,000-square-foot building expansion, is Explora’s new teen center: a place to hang out, experiment, create, and learn. X Studio brings teens and their dreams together with cutting-edge tools, technologies, and mentors—all with a focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). X Studio is defined by the visions and dreams of teens, community members, STEM educators and STEM employers–all who collaborated to build X Studio and the STEM in the Burque exhibition featured in its main gallery. Teens are our future, and X Studio is their one-stop shop to explore, hang out, and discover pathways to great jobs that solve big problems and pay well.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.
