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As a countywide organization working to center community in all its efforts, the Fleet Science Center is leading the informal science field in community co-creation. Although we are still the iconic science museum in magnificent Balboa Park that I loved in my youth, the Fleet has grown beyond a place to visit to a true community partner in San Diego. My name is Mwenda KudumuBiggs, the new Vice President of Community Service and Engagement here at the Fleet. For this issue, I am stepping in for Steve, who will return for the next Innovator.
Growing up in beautiful Valencia Park, I am a San Diego native who visited the Fleet on field trips in elementary school. As a teenager, I returned to see my first IMAX film here.
My life’s trajectory took me out of San Diego to attend college at Stanford University, conduct research for NOAA at the National Marine Fisheries Service, and work for five science museums across the United States and in Ghana, West Africa.
After decades of working in the field, I returned to North Carolina State University for graduate school to study why science centers are such powerful tools in building STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) identity. I was searching for ways to inspire greater participation from Black and Brown communities in science museums, convinced that this engagement would help diversify STEM careers. While working on my dissertation, I learned about the Fleet’s work to become a community-first organization by employing a community collaboration model. The Fleet’s Neighborhood Networks initiative attracted my attention because it champions a community co-creation method.
You might be wondering, “Exactly what is community co-creation and how is it any different from the community outreach that most organizations boast about?” That is a good question! STEM outreach programs, designed to impact those historically underrepresented in STEM tend to provide experiences for a community. The Fleet instead collaborates with communities to co-create experiences that serve the communities’ needs.
I am excited to join the Fleet in this industry-leading work and to help connect all of San Diego to the power of science!
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