New England Congregational Church, 406 W. Galena Blvd. in Aurora, will celebrate diversity with a visit by the Mobile Museums of Tolerance exhibit bus.
The bus will be open to the public in the church parking lot Sunday, Feb. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
Launched in the U.S. in Illinois, the mobile museum is offered by the Museum of Tolerance (MOT). The museum is the educational arm of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, which challenges visitors to confront bigotry, antisemitism and prejudice and to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts.
A 30-seat, wheelchair-accessible vehicle, the bus serves as a self-contained classroom, while delivering a field trip experience to its visitors. Led by a licensed educator, the MMOT uses immersive technology and dialogue to deliver carefully designed workshops. Topics include antisemitism and hate, lessons of the Holocaust, Civil Rights movement and decoding online hate, all taught age-appropriately.
—Al Benson