Wild Wonders | Saturday, April 27
Wild Wonders | Saturday, April 27
Black lives ALWAYS matter.
DuPage Children’s Museum is a critical resource for all children. The early years shape a child’s forever. We promote the power of play because we know it accelerates learning during this most critical period in our children’s lives. Hate and the trauma it creates douse play as an accelerant.
An equitable, fair, and just civic community provides the security and stability required for all of our children to reach their full potential. We must work together to make this a shared reality. We teach our children that identifying the problem is the first step to solving it and that failure will happen along the way. We also teach them that perseverance, resilience, and empathy are critical to learning and growing.
Black Lives Matter. We declare this because it is true. In saying it, we acknowledge the sad unavoidable truth that it must be said out loud. Parents having to teach their children to protect themselves from police—the protectors of civil society—is unacceptable. The problem is solvable when it is finally admitted.
Together we can do better. We stand in solidarity with our Black communities to support equity for all and to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.
Inclusion is a core value of DCM. Saying it is not enough. We must acknowledge our own privilege and how it shapes our perspective in defining access. We must doggedly find and overcome barriers our audiences face in accessing our resources.
As a children’s museum, our focus is on children and their caregivers – working to meet their needs and address their concerns. Children feel what’s happening. We support families, children, parents, caregivers, educators, and community leaders through the power of play. Play reduces anxiety and mitigates the effects of toxic stress. Play brings people together. All children have a right to play.
We must talk to our children about race, racial injustice, and economic inequity. DCM stands as a community resource stimulating dialogue and advancing learning through safe inclusive play for all. It is not enough to say it. We must do it.
We know that there is significant work to be done here at DuPage Children’s Museum as an institution, within our community, and in communities across the country but we believe that providing resources to support caregivers and their children navigate this road towards creating a world where everyone is treated with kindness and respect is a place to start.
Framing the Conversation:
If we want to raise empathetic, resilient, and inclusive children we need to talk to them about race early and often https://www.prettygooddesign.org/. We realize that how to have these conversations can be overwhelming and have compiled a list of resources for you with strategies and things to think about when talking to your child about race, inequality, and social justice.
Children’s Books
Children’s books are another powerful tool for stimulating conversations around difficult subjects. We encourage you not only to read and discuss stories on the topics of race and inequality but also to make sure that your home library includes books with diverse representation. Sorting your books at home to see how many books you have that include people of color is a powerful activity that you can do with your child. Here are a few books we love, as well as a few resources for picking diverse stories.
