Mobile Museum of Tolerance Enlightens Piedmont Community

From March 3 to March 5, The Mobile Museum of Tolerance (MMOT) stopped in Piedmont as part of its tour through California. According to piedmontedfoundation.org, the museum aims to promote human rights, diversity, and respect while traveling through California.
“The MMOT empowers students to take personal responsibility and act as catalysts for positive changes in the world,” said Associate Director of Development Kerin Nash. “It aims to help advance the creations of a more just and compassionate society.”
Piedmont was excited to host the MMOT for a few days so students, teachers, and parents could go and visit.
“Piedmont members reached out to us after they learned about our programs, and when we were introduced to the Superintendent’s office, all parties were very enthusiastic for the initiative,” said Nash.
In the short time the California MMOT has been around, it has already made several stops and has many more to go.
“The California MMOT launched in January, and since then it has made lots of stops along the way from Northern California making its way down to Southern California,” said Nash.
The goals for the MMOT have not yet been met. They are trying to have every state get the same opportunities to go to their mobile museum.
“We currently have seven MMOT buses across the country, and more are currently being built. Our goal is to eventually have at least one MMOT in each state, so every student can benefit from the lessons they teach,” said Nash.
With each lesson the museum teaches, the goal is not to just educate but to have visitors reflect on themselves and their role.
“I hope that people who visit the mobile museum walk away with a deeper understanding of the power of their choices in combating hate and promoting inclusivity. We hope people reflect on their own role in shaping a more tolerant and just society,” said Nash.
In Piedmont, the MMOT has received lots of attraction from the middle school. Classes are visiting during the school day.
“7th grade classes attended the workshop that was called civil rights,” said Core 7 Teacher Lisa Brenneman. “The civil rights workshop was at a seventh-grade level, and it tied in well with a couple of projects we did in 7th grade, so we decided it was the best workshop for 7th grade because it tied in well with our curriculum.”
The MMOT offers a different perspective to students learning about real-world issues.
“The museum was a great experience, and I think my students experiencing issues like discrimination from another lens is great for them,” Brenneman said. “I think it’s a very powerful message.”
Brenneman said the museum was a super fun merging of technology.
“We watched videos highlighting the Civil Rights Movement, showing what it was like for the people of the time,” Brenneman said. “I also really appreciated that students got to react to everything after with discussion.”
In addition to the Civil Rights Movement, the museum also had workshops on the story of Anne Frank, the power of ordinary people, and digital media literacy.
“The museum had multiple workshops and options to go to, and I ended up going to the Power of Ordinary People workshop. It was an amazing experience, and it definitely showed some interesting facts and videos,” sophomore Matias Seelenberger said. “It showed how ordinary people are the most important and how everyone can stand up to hate.”