A traveling museum with the goal of inspiring the public to speak out against hate is currently stationed in south Naperville.
“We are at the 95th Street Library in Naperville, and this is the Mobile Museum of Tolerance (MMOT),” said State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr. “We brought (it) to the district about three years ago, and we had such gre at success with it, we wanted to bring it back again this year.”
Mobile Museum of Tolerance confronts bigotry and hate
The 32-seat vehicle uses immersive technology to teach its free workshops.
“We have this kind of an open house format, and so you can just pop right in,” said Yang Rohr. “There are three programs you can see: one on the civil rights movement, one telling the story of Anne Frank… and then one on what’s called “Ordinary People,” and it’s about how the effects of propaganda, how the effects of bystander effect help to propel the Nazi agenda forward.”
The MMOT is a project from the Simon Wiesenthal Center based on the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California. Yang Rohr worked with the Illinois Department of Human Rights to bring the mobile museum to Naperville.
“(The MMOT) is one of the programs that the state of Illinois funds… As a state representative, we make sure that that kind of resource is available to everyone in the district,” said Yang Rohr.
Yang Rohr invites all area residents to check out the MMOT before it rolls out of Naperville. It will be available from noon to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
“In Chicago, we have some great resources, but it’s not always convenient, it’s not always easy to get to those…I love that it’s here right in the middle of our district, so people can really come and enjoy it and learn,” said Yang Rohr.
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