The Indigenous exhibit that Trump failed to stop

"Replicas of black oak trees towered overhead, while California poppies, wild roses, yarrow, and black sage plants were projected on the floor and a creek and bridge were under construction nearby. A cartoon version of East Bay Ohlone matriarch Dolores Lameira smiled encouragingly from one wall as she coached visitors to the mixed reality experience on how to gather virtual acorns using baskets equipped with 3D sensors."

"Yuutka is both the first mixed-reality display in the Lawrence's history and the first to be designed in a novel collaboration with young people from the Ohlone community, whose traditional homeland the museum sits on. It really looks like her, commented Vincent Medina, her great-nephew and one of the project's creators."

"Working with Medina and his partner and collaborator Louis Trevino, the museum invited a group of Ohlone youth ages 7 to 22 to participate in the exhibit, Yuutka: The Place of the Acorn. Armed with a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the museum in 2023 embarked on a series of exhibits aimed at both showcasing the Ohlone's understanding of the natural world and sparking interest in science among Indigenous young people."

"Then last year, the Trump administration abruptly terminated their funding, part of a mass cancellation affecting more than $1 billion in NSF grants that officials said didn't align wi"

Local Indigenous leaders and Lawrence Hall of Science researchers toured the lobby during installation of Yuutka: The Place of the Acorn. The exhibit features towering black oak tree replicas, projected native plants, and a constructed creek and bridge. A cartoon portrait of Dolores Lameira guides visitors through a mixed reality activity that uses baskets with 3D sensors to gather virtual acorns. Yuutka is the first mixed-reality display in the museum’s history and the first designed through a collaboration with Ohlone community youth. The project received a $1.4 million National Science Foundation grant in 2023 to support exhibits centered on Ohlone understanding of the natural world and science engagement for Indigenous youth, but funding was abruptly terminated by the Trump administration.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org