RACE: Are We So Different?

The Science Museum is committed to creating a more equitable and inclusive world. In RACE: Are We So Different?, you can examine our shared history and current reality. Understanding the past, acknowledging harm, and joining the conversation are the first steps toward a fairer future. Join us!

Discover what’s new with RACE: Are We So Different?

A crowd of people.

We’re one human family

Each of us represents a unique combination of genes, environment, and experiences. But we’re much more alike than we think because of our common ancestry. Trace the human migration out of Africa and explore the evidence that allows scientists to recreate this journey.

A handcuffed man.

Prison system disparities

While Americans are only about 4% of the world’s population, the US is home to about a quarter of the world’s prisoners—prisoners who are disproportionately people of color. Racism helped create this disparity. Question yourself honestly and see where your biases might lie.

The Minneapolis skyline from Prospect Park.

Minnesota nice? 

Deeply entrenched patterns of segregation and discrimination disadvantage people of color when it comes to health, wealth, education, or contact with the criminal justice system in Minnesota. Learn more from individuals in your own neighborhoods and communities.

Reflections on the exhibit

Join featured guests as they explore RACE: Are We So Different? See the exhibition through a variety of personal lenses.

Alex West Steinman reads a plaque in the RACE exhibit.

Alex West Steinman

Alex West Steinman is the co-founder and CEO of The Coven, a digital community and physical workspace for women, non-binary, and trans people.

Headshot of Marika Pfefferkorn

Marika Pfefferkorn

Marika Pfefferkorn has been a member of education and racial justice movements locally & nationally for the past 27 years. She is the co-founder of the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance and Executive Director of the Midwest Center for School Transformation.

Sarah Zalanga headshot.

Sarah Zalanga

Sarah Zalanga is an alumnus of the Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center and an undergraduate student at Bethel University majoring in biology and minoring in gender studies.

Don Day tours the RACE: Are We So Different? exhibition.

Dr. Don Day

Dr. Donald Day has served as the President of Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College and as the Past President of Leech Lake Tribal College. He's an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and a lifetime educator and public speaker.

Headshot of Mandi Clayton

Mandi Clayton

Mandi Clayton has worked in education as a special education teacher for 14 years. Mandi was also a participant in the MN Humanities Center Absent Narratives Collaborative.

Russel Balenger in the Science Museum's RACE exhibition

Russel Balenger

Russel Balenger is the co-founder of the Circle of Peace movement, an award-winning St. Paul, Minnesota-based nonprofit with a mission to end violence and promote racial healing.

Image of Staci White, an Engineering Manager at the Donaldson Company. She is also the Chairperson of their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.

Staci White

Staci White is an Engineering Manager at the Donaldson Company. She is also the Chairperson of their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.

Image of Michael Kleber-Diggs, a poet and essayist in Saint Paul who teaches poetry and creative non-fiction through the Minnesota Prison Writers Workshop.

Michael Kleber-Diggs

Michael Kleber-Diggs is a poet and essayist in Saint Paul who teaches poetry and creative non-fiction through the Minnesota Prison Writers Workshop.