Emerson to Take Over Museum of Science, Explore ‘Being Human’

On Sunday, April 27, seven groups of Emerson students will take over Boston’s Museum of Science with exhibitions of their own, all exploring the theme of “being human,” part of a yearlong collaboration between the College and the Museum.

Interspersed between the Museum’s exhibits on artificial intelligence, engineering design, and dinosaur fossils, Emerson students will take museumgoers on a healing journey of peace via a specially designed card game, push the boundaries of storytelling through zine publishing, screen several short films that get at the heart of humanity, and compete with creative ideas to better the human condition, among other projects.

This daylong Takeover is part of EmersonTogether. The Emerson community members can join for free for the entire day or just part of it, by going to the Museum of Science website and reserving tickets using the code, EMERSON25. A short film festival, also free and part of the takeover, requires separate registration.

“I don’t think it’s ever been more relevant to be talking about what being human is and how it connects everyone,” said Marketing Communication affiliated faculty member Sharon Topper, one of three faculty members, along with Journalism Professor Paul Mihailidis and Marlboro Institute Associate Professor Jon Honea, leading Emerson’s end of the collaboration.

“Regardless of … your beliefs, we’re all human, so it’s so important to remember that we’re all connected,” Topper said.

“’Being Human’ is our invitation to explore what’s inside everything that connects us,” Insoo Hyun, director of the Museum’s Center for Life Sciences and Public Learning said when the partnership was announced.

In January, the organizers of the partnership put out an open call to faculty for projects that could fit the brief; in the end, seven were selected to present at the Museum of Science Takeover. They represent courses in Visual & Media Arts, Writing, Literature and Publishing, Communication Sciences & Disorders, and Marketing Communication, and feature the work of undergraduate and graduate students.

“We did try to get a pretty broad range of projects that serve the general population and talk about being human,” Topper said.

Some of Topper’s students will compete in one of two Innovation Tournaments, focused on addressing the environmental and ethical implications of fast fashion. The other Innovation Tournament, featuring students of Communication Sciences and Disorders Professor Ruth Grossman, will center on autism and communication.

Business of Creative Enterprises major Joanna Bishop ’26 is in Topper’s Fashion for Impact class, and will present her impact idea in Sunday’s Innovation Tournament. She wants to create second-hand marketplaces on college campuses, starting with Emerson, where students can sell and buy fashion sustainably.

Over the course of the semester, as the class has learned about the ethical and environmental hazards of the fast fashion industry, Bishop said she’s been thinking about how to indulge her passion for clothing and style sustainably.

“I think being human is just being responsible, considerate, and grounded to the world we live in … clothing is maybe not the most important thing, but it’s a big step toward being part of something bigger,” she said. “My project focuses a lot on community as well, and personally, I think that especially in the world we live in today, there’s nothing more important than being able to lean on and support those around you.”

The Mugar Omni Theater, typically home to Imax screenings, will host a Short Film Festival, featuring a selection of short films from Emerson students, who will discuss the meaning and importance of storytelling in human connection.

Visual and Media Arts Chair Shaun Clarke said students submitting films for consideration were asked also to explain how their short fit into the theme.

“It’s a very broad theme, so there wasn’t a set of expectations, but we felt the final program was able to showcase that range and diversity of thoughts around being human,” Clarke said. The six films selected represent undergraduates and graduate students, as well as a variety of genres.

“Getting the screen in the Mugar Omni Theater is just a special venue for our students to share their work,” he added.

Tushar Gidwani, MFA ’27 will screen his short film, When the dolphins heard the people laugh, they sang. When the people heard the dolphins laugh, they screamed, shot in 16mm black and white film processed with seaweed and kale juice. The film explores what humans may look like through the eyes of other species.

“Humanity is an oxymoron – a centuries-wide project striving to distance ourselves from the traits that make us humane,” Gidwani said. “Across form and media, my films explore the moral grey that distinguishes our humanity, and it’s been quite exciting to have this piece included in the festival, given its contemplative roots.”

In another part of the museum, CSD graduate students will present ways to promote healthy communication and swallowing, including preventing voice disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, and early identification of childhood struggles with swallowing, hearing, and literacy.  

Throughout the day, museumgoers will have a chance to play a card game, Unpacking the Principles of Peace, co-designed by VMA senior affiliated faculty member David Kelleher’s Emerson students and representatives from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute; have their hearing tested by CSD grad students and clinical supervisors; and check out a selection of zines about what it means to be human, created by students of WLP Assistant Professor John Rodzvilla.

See the full schedule

The partnership with the Museum of Science officially kicked off with a storytelling event held in February, and also featured an ArtsEmerson-hosted panel on Climate Justice and the Future of Theatre. Next month, the experimental performance Utopian Hotline will be presented by ArtsEmerson in the Museum’s Planetarium.

But the partnership doesn’t end this semester. Topper, said she sees Sunday’s Takeover as “kind of a startup.”

“It’s the first time we’re doing anything like this. [W]e’ll learn from this one and try to make it bigger and better in November,” she said.

Volunteers are needed to staff the info booth at the museum. Sign up to help out.