So, yesterday I went to the Toronto Zoo.
And then I went to Ontario Science Center.
The science center isn't all i remembered it to be, but one exhibit that really stuck out was the "A Question of Truth" display.
To get into it you approach these doors and click on a red button to gain access. You are being recorded as you wait, and for me I was permitted instant access. Once inside you are greeted by a giant sign telling you that you have just been sorted, and asking you how you feel about it. My sister was very confused, she had no clue what was going on. I was puzzled at first, and then I saw the sign, so I questioned why we would need to be sorted if we were all going into the same place.
After we got home and I was reading the brochure, I noticed that it said that you might gain instant entrance, or you might have to wait....others would be made to turn around slowly in front of the camera before gaining admittance. I thought again now how it made me feel, incredibly peeved off. I wondered if I gained instant access just because I was white, or because i'm female.
The goal of the exhibit is to explore points of view.
Other displays within that we found interesting were the confinement box, the mayan writings display and the display showing three men and you're asked to choose who are the most similar. I thought it would be the two dark skinned men, but when we compared the genetic sample of the three men, I found out that was incorrect.
The mayan writings showed a complex language and allowed us to create a rubbing of our names in a different language.
But I think the display that had the biggest influence on me was the confinement box. No bigger than the boxes that confined African slaves, or prisoners bound for Nazi concentration camps you listen to a small speech while one wall of the box closes in on you. I found it hard to try and concentrate on the words as the lights dimmed and the one wall moved in closer leaving less and less space. Being naturally claustrophobic.... i found it incredibly hard to stay put.
But at the same time, I could see how the boxes would make their inhabitants feel inferior.