Celebrating Peace at the Penn Museum
What is it like to leave the only place you have ever called home? During Peace Day Philly, local high school students learned about refugees from around the world through a special Museum program, presented in partnership with the World Affairs Council. On September 20, 2017, 40 local students, along with teachers and parents, toured the Cultures in the Crossfire: Stories from Syria and Iraq exhibition and were introduced to Museum International Classroom Speaker Nyamal Tutdeal. In her discussion with the students, Tutdeal told her story as a former refugee from South Sudan and Ethiopia, touched upon the current worldwide refugee crisis, and highlighted the importance of rallying as world citizens to understand the refugee experience.
Celebrating Diversity at International Students Festival
On October 13, 2017, the Penn Museum continued its 48- year tradition of hosting a free, Museumwide reception for the region’s international students and scholars at the Festival for International Students. Over 700 guests from all over the world mingled in the galleries to celebrate the cultural diversity that international students bring to the region and to promote global engagement. They enjoyed festive dance performances, networking opportunities, and games.
Among the special guest speakers were Dr. Symbol Lai, Deputy Director, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Peter Longstreth, President, Consular Corps of Philadelphia; and Jannie Blackwell, Councilwoman, District 3. Participating colleges ranged from Lehigh, Philadelphia University, and Bryn Mawr, to Temple, Drexel, and University of the Sciences, and, of course, hundreds of Penn students. Organized by the Learning Program Department’s International Classroom program and the Academic Engagement Department, lead sponsorship was provided by the Museum, Penn Language Center, and Penn Global.
What in the World? at The Haverford School
In September 2017, over 120 Haverford freshmen participated in a special program based on the Museum’s What in the World? television show. After watching episodes of What in the World?, students selected obscure objects from the Museum’s teaching collection to jumpstart a four-week research project. The students used artifacts to learn how to form questions and conduct research after which they created PowerPoint presentations about their research process and their findings. In October, the students presented their projects to a panel of judges comprised of Penn Museum Archivists, Learning Programs staff, and Haverford teachers. The judges revealed the research project winners at a concluding assembly in the school’s auditorium.