COSI RACE Exhibit is a "must see"

Columbus, Ohio-based COSI has featured a number of popular exhibits since it moved into it's new digs along the river front many years ago.

I recall visiting the Star Wars exhibit with my boys. My wife enjoyed the Titanic exhibit. And of course there's the typical features many families enjoy on a regular basis.

But the RACE Exhibit breaks new ground.

RACE Exhibit
RACE, which is open through May at COSI explores the issue of ethnic diversity through the eyes of both science and culture.

Nationwide associates take in the
RACE exhibit at COSI

I got to experience the exhibit this morning with the rest of the Corporate Communications team from Nationwide. (Full disclaimer: My employer, Nationwide, is a lead sponsor of the exhibit's visit in Columbus).  Nationwide is encouraging teams to meet at COSI and allow associates to experience the RACE exhibit first-hand.

It Will Challenge Your Thinking
The exhibit is very well done. Rather than preach a diversity message at participants, the interactive display taps all the senses, lays out the facts from ALL points of view and allows visitors to draw their own conclusions on the issue.

A key point I walked away with from my brief time exploring the exhibit is that the concept of race is a social construct and is not a scientific or biological issue. We all have the same genetic structure and history as human beings. The color of our skin is nothing more than an adaptation to the environment in which our ancestors lived and breathed.

A powerful statement from one of the many displays
that make up the RACE exhibit at COSI.

Avocado Awakening
My favorite example that race is a social construct was a part of the display featuring the avocado. The exhibit pointed out that in the U.S., we consider avocados as a vegetable and we serve them with dinner. However, in South America, the avocado is considered a fruit, and with a little sugar and lemon, is served as a desert. Same avocado. Different social construct.

The same is true for race.

Credit Where Credit is Due
Give COSI credit for having the courage and the wisdom to bring this important exhibit to the central Ohio community. Too often, the race issue gets dragged down into the gutter on the rails of ignorance and assumption. This exhibit takes a thoughtful, historic, scientific, and fact-based approach to challenge conventional wisdom and provoke a better-informed dialogue on an issue that has defined our national narrative.

I want my children to experience this exhibit. Where I live in Union County, 93 percent of the population is Caucasian. We need to expose our children to a fact-based, reasoned dialogue regarding the things that make us different.

It's the kind of exhibit that can, ironically, help us see how much we really have in common.

Here's an introductory video on the RACE exhibit. I'd recommend it as a "must see" for my central Ohio neighbors this spring.