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Mark | Dylan
| Gabby | Cristina
| Mariah | Maggie
| Pakou | Jenny
| Emma | Erika |
Sara K. | Jeremy |
Martha | Abigail |
Pao | Sarah M.
Before people enter they need to open
their minds. People need to realize that Hmong culture is
different than other cultures. The Hmong have different ceremonies
and other things. People who visit need to respect Hmong culture.
If they are respectful and have an open mind when they come
in they can learn from Hmong culture. Diversity is very important
because the world has many different people.
–Mark
I think that people should know about
the war that happened in Laos, and all the hardship and confusion
the Hmong people had to go through. They should also know
about the beliefs of the traditional Hmong people. They should
know that lots of Hmong people have been converted to other
religions, like Christian and Catholic for example. They should
know that Hmong people are basically the same as them, but
their religion and beliefs may be different.
When people come into the exhibit they should be willing
to accept all of the material, and be respectful to the area,
the structures, and the Hmong culture. They should be prepared
to learn lots of new ideas, and come out of the exhibit without
a negative feeling about the Hmong people.
–Dylan
First they need to know who the Hmong
are. That they aren’t Chinese or Japanese or something
like that...
When people enter the exhibit they should be curious and
interested to learn a new culture. Because if they try, then
it will be easier to understand. If they just walked in without
trying, they would just be walking around being bored.
–Gabby
If people don’t know what Hmong means
they should learn that first. They should learn what culture
means. Without knowing that, you’ve got nothing.
People should also know that rumors are everywhere. They
shouldn’t listen to what they hear until they have fully-baked
proof.
–Cristina
I would strongly hope that when the
people first walk into “Hmong at Heart” they are
eager to learn about another culture. I also would hope that
when they are in the exhibit they are very curious about the
Hmong people. And when they finally exit, they have learned
a lot...
–Mariah
People need to know that Hmong is a
culture, what the word “Hmong” means, how to spell
and pronounce it correctly, and that stereotypes shouldn’t
be made in the exhibit. Those seem to be the most important
things they need to know before they step through the doors
to a whole different world telling the story of a culture
that’s new to a lot of people...
I’d like people to have a way of looking at things
where they’re really CURIOUS instead of wandering around,
complaining to their mom “I’m bored!” and
“I’m hungry, Mo-------m!!!! When can we leave?”
I think that if they’re really curious, they’ll
learn a lot more. At least half of what we did. If they’re
curious, they might walk out, saying, “Wow! I never
knew there was Shamanism!” And, “Dad, isn’t
it cool and sad, the story of the Hmong?”
–Maggie
People need to know about what does Hmong
mean, what’s the history of the Hmong culture, who is
Hmong, what can Hmong people do? etc.... People need to know
how they do things traditionally, in their own kind of ways.
–Pakou
People should go to the museum to explore
more and more about Hmong culture. When they are done, they
will probably understand only a little bit about Hmong culture,
but when they grow up a little bit more than they might learn
about Hmong culture again, and they will get to know more
and more...and that is good for people...
People should have fun and be glad they learned about Hmong
culture.
–Jenny
They need to know that the Hmong are not
Chinese and that the things they do like Shamanism is not
a joke...If people come out of that exhibit and laugh and
say Shamanism is funny I will say I failed at my job...
–Emma
People should know that this
exhibit will only scratch the surface of what Hmong culture
really is...
–Erika
Kids should know that everyone has a culture
and not just the Hmong...Also, before I was in this class
I didn’t know that kids were supposed to learn at the
Children’s Museum, so we’re really going to have
to work hard if we want kids like me to learn about Hmong
culture...
–Sara K.
People should know that the Hmong are
regular people with regular jobs...
–Jeremy
When they enter, people should be curious,
open-minded, calm, interested, and willing to take all the
culture shock that will occur...
–Martha
They should know where the Hmong originated
from, the journeys they took, how they are teased because
of their culture. They should know why Hmong have been driven
out of their homes, and how many have been killed or left
behind or got sick and died. They should know the basic story
of the Hmong...
–Abigail
I would like people to feel amazed at how
strong Hmong culture is, to feel: Wow! It is important, and
to know that Hmong people is one of the nice ethnic groups
who likes to help...
–Pao
It’s very important to start out explaining
what Hmong culture is, and even what culture is. Because when
people first come in they might be thinking “Is Hmong
a place? Is Hmong a kind of animal? A game?” We have
to make it clear that Hmong is a culture, an ethnicity, a
kind of people... And it would be really neat to have one
of the Hmong kids in our class—Pakou, Mark, Pao—speak
on the video about what it is like to be a Hmong child.
I want people to enter the exhibit with a good feeling about
the Hmong. They should know that Hmong people are just like
themselves, but also recognize their differences. The people
who enter should be curious, and excited about what they are
going to see. It would be really bad if we give stereotypes,
because they’ll stick in people’s minds and they
will probably look at everything from a different point of
view since they’re thinking of that stereotype. We’d
like visitors to know a fair amount about what Hmong culture
is, but we can’t give away too much. If their minds
are filled with little bits of exciting things we’ve
seen, done, or heard about they’d be curious to find
out more.
Here would be a perfect example of how a person’s mind
should be: Curious to learn, excited about the Hmong, puzzled
about the ways of the culture, a bit angry about the people
who forced the Hmong out, and feeling like they’re a
part of the culture, being taken away into the world of “Hmong
at Heart.”
–Sarah M.
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