New exhibit opening June 24 highlights LGBTQ+ intersectional identities in STEMM

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 22, 2021) — This week, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco will debut New Science, a new exhibit that tells first-person stories of LGBTQ+ women and gender minorities of color working in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine) professions. The exhibit, which features nearly a dozen profiles of individuals who reflect a vital sea change in queer representation in STEMM, aims to recognize and amplify the significant contributions of groups historically underrepresented in the sciences, and in the process, diversify the faces and lived experiences of modern science.

The exhibit will officially debut at the Academy’s sold out Pride NightLife event on Thursday, June 24, an annual event for adults 21+ that celebrates Pride Month with after hours access to museum exhibits, music, and more. Online, that same night, viewers can tune into NightSchool: Queering Science, a virtual event featuring scientists whose queer perspectives and identities help drive new insights, discoveries, and previously unasked questions in their respective fields. The free, livestreamed event will feature several of the scientists profiled in the New Science exhibit, created in partnership with 500 Queer Scientists and with funding from an IF/THEN® Gender Equity Grant.

“New Science is all about showing the world that queer and intersectional identities are changing who does science and how science gets done,” says Dr. Lauren Esposito, the Academy’s Curator of Arachnology and Founder of 500 Queer Scientists, a powerful visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ professionals working in science, science education, and science advocacy. “I am in awe of the incredible people featured in the exhibit and their unique stories and pathways to careers in science, and I hope everyone who visits the exhibit either in person or online feels inspired as well.”

The New Science exhibit was made possible through an IF/THEN® Gender Equity Grant, awarded to the Academy in February by the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) with a goal to increase the visual representation of women and gender minorities in STEM across museum content. The Academy joins 27 other recipients around the U.S. working to showcase greater gender diversity in exhibits, displays, and materials as part of their broader efforts to advance diversity, accessibility, inclusion, and equity. The Academy also received one of four prestigious Moonshot Awards given to support extraordinary efforts that can be easily replicated or shared with other science centers and museums.

Beyond the Academy’s doors, this customizable exhibit will be made available for other institutions to easily and inexpensively recreate and display, allowing them to showcase the stories that resonate most with their audiences. Starting in mid-August, New Science will be available in a project library hosted by ASTC, where institutions can view and request downloadable assets to replicate in their own spaces. In addition, the Academy will host an immersive and interactive virtual version of the New Science exhibit on Google Arts & Culture’s new Pride content hub, featuring 19 first-person profiles plus additional content, helping to ensure these powerful stories extend beyond museum walls. In addition, all 23 profiles created as part of this exhibit will be featured on the Academy’s website.

Through the New Science exhibit, the Academy seeks to create space for the LGBTQ+ community to see themselves in STEMM, and to help all audiences better recognize the true diversity of STEMM practitioners in their communities.