Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Dedicates Youth Exhibition
Make A Difference: Miller Family Youth Exhibition uses technology, interactive games to teach age-appropriate lessons related to diversity and responsible citizenship
Holocaust survivors, donors, friends and community members today gathered with Museum leadership, education staff and the children in their lives at the new Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Illinois, to officially dedicate its Make a Difference: Miller Family Youth Exhibition.
Designed specifically for children ages 8-11, the youth exhibition uses technology and interactive games to teach age-appropriate lessons related to respecting individual differences and promoting responsible citizenship. Dozens of children were in attendance at the dedication event to explore and experience the many lessons offered in the exhibition and to participate in a special story hour tied to the themes presented in the Museum.
“Our goal is to encourage visitors of all ages to examine ethical questions derived from the study of the Holocaust and other genocides,” said J.B. Pritzker, the Museum’s Capital Campaign Chairman. “However, many younger children are not quite ready to digest the more graphic themes presented in the Museum. The Miller Family Youth Exhibition provides our younger visitors a safe space to discuss themes centered on character education.”
“It is truly fantastic to see the Miller Family Youth Exhibition in action,” Pritzker continued. “And we are tremendously grateful to the Miller family for their generous contribution to help make this unique exhibit possible.”
The Miller Family Youth Exhibition uses a park-like setting and a storyline path to offer warmth, familiarity and friendliness to children while they interact with “stations” that explore such themes as fairness and respect; identity; diversity; taking a stand against bullying; speaking out against racism, intolerance and discrimination; and social and civic responsibility. Visitors can also explore these values firsthand through the exhibition’s Take a Stand virtual reality experience. Take a Stand uses motion-tracking technology to immerse children in an imaginative setting where they are challenged to observe, make choices, resist negative forces and help others. Park benches in the Youth Exhibition invite young visitors to engage in discussion and explore being an active participant in a positive way. And, several mini-films of Holocaust survivors and a rescuer provide background and context to the lessons of the exhibit.
“Our hope is that our younger visitors who experience the Miller Family Youth Exhibition will not only find their voices, but take positive action to ensure their voices are heard,” said Richard S. Hirschhaut, Museum Executive Director. “Since opening in April, we have watched in amazement as thousands of students have explored and learned in this space what it means to be an “upstander,” that a single individual can make a difference and that we all have a critical role to play in this world.”
In 2005, the Illinois General Assembly enacted the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Education Mandate. This law requires every public elementary school and high school to include instruction of the Holocaust and other acts of genocide in its curriculum. The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center will help to fulfill this mandate by serving as a premiere field trip destination for schools across Illinois and the Midwest. The Miller Family Youth Exhibition will be a key component of this experience for younger audiences. It is expected that the Museum will reach approximately 250,000 schoolchildren annually.
Likely the last international institution of its kind built with the active participation of Holocaust survivors, the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is the largest facility in the Midwest dedicated to preserving the memories of those lost in the Holocaust and to teaching current generations to fight hatred, indifference and genocide in today’s world. The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center was born of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, founded by Holocaust survivors nearly 30 years ago. The organization taught school and community groups through a small storefront museum and speakers’ bureau since 1981.
For hours of operation or to learn more about the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and its Make a Difference: Miller Family Youth Exhibition, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Michelle Valmond, 312-573-5491
Jasculca/Terman & Associates, Inc. for
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
michelle_valmond@jtpr.com
