Observational Research (and a great show!)

This week we officially kicked off our observational research at the DuSable Museum. On Thursday, Gretchen took the train down to the Hyde Park institution to observe the traffic patterns and movements of visitors as they made their way through DuSable's permanent exhibits.

On Friday morning, the rest of the team headed down to DuSable to catch the special student and senior showing of 'Something About Oscar Brown Jr.' starring Morris Gearring. Oscar Brown Jr., a Chicago native and lifelong resident, was an influential singer, songwriter, poet and Civil Rights activist. The show was wonderful and the team was impressed with the enthusiasm and energy of the student audience.

After the show, the team took notes and photos as the 350 students and their teachers navigated their way through the exhibits in the museum.  The 'Africa Speaks' exhibit was particularly popular with the young students. 

We also had the pleasure to meet with Antoinette Simmons from DuSable's Education Department. She was generous enough to make room in her very busy schedule to speak with us about the joys and challenges of hosting student groups at the museum. We're looking forward to returning to the museum and the Hyde Park neighborhood next week to continue with our research initiative.