{"id":44171,"date":"2026-05-28T09:55:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/?post_type=news&p=44171"},"modified":"2026-05-28T10:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:00:15","slug":"celebrating-community-science-together-at-the-lawrence","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/news\/celebrating-community-science-together-at-the-lawrence\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Community Science Together at The Lawrence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Science is people-powered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 17, the Lawrence Hall of Science made that idea official \u2014 opening its newly reimagined Community Lobby with \u201cTogether @ The Lawrence,\u201d a ceremony honoring Community Science Heroes and Ohlone Science Diplomats whose work, and whose stories, now live at the heart of the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new Community Lobby reflects a larger vision for The Lawrence \u2014 one where science is deeply connected to people, culture, place, creativity, and everyday life,\u201d said Rena Dorph, Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science, during opening remarks. \u201cAt the heart of it all is a simple idea: science is people-powered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The redesigned lobby features exhibits and stories rooted in the East Bay, highlighting researchers, educators, artists, families and community leaders whose work reflects science as something shaped through collaboration, culture and lived experience. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Rena
Rena Dorph, Director of The Lawrence Hall of Science, delivers opening remarks<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Among the honorees was Dolores \u201cAuntie Dottie\u201d Lameira Galvan \u2014 elder and matriarch of her East Bay Ohlone community \u2014 recognized for her lifelong work teaching and sharing Ohlone tradition, land stewardship, and the living knowledge of her elders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also recognized was 11th-grade student Aidan Ahmed, whose work focuses on developing STEM learning tools and expanding access through technology and AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve worked a lot throughout my childhood, and even as I’ve gotten older, trying to serve the community,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cBeing recognized among all these other people who make such a big impact is really cool. Being featured here means when other kids and people come here, they can be inspired by these stories and maybe inspired to make their own initiatives to help other people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science Hero Victor Bojorquez, a member of the tappenek\u0161ekma Ohlone Science Diplomats program, was honored for helping co-create exhibits and experiences that connect Ohlone knowledge, culture and science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo me, it’s mainly recognizing the perseverance that not just myself, but the whole tappenek\u0161ekma team went through,\u201d Bojorquez said. \u201cWe did make an impact, and we shed some light on culture and tradition. We did something that mattered to us and that can maybe matter to other people and teach them something they can walk away with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brothers Jonathan and William Zhang were also recognized for their work expanding access to science communication through multilingual storytelling and educational tools. During the ceremony, presenter and Public Experience Design Lead Michelle Rodriguez highlighted Jonathan\u2019s work through the Polyglot Initiative, which promotes science communication in multiple languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe in connecting people through language and culture,\u201d Jonathan said. \u201cLanguage is not just practical communication, but understanding. That’s why we promote stories in English, Spanish, Chinese and most recently, American Sign Language, so people can understand each other better, see each other and hear each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William said the recognition reflected the importance of building connection through shared understanding and representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCulture shouldn’t bring people apart,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe should focus on all our differences, and that should bring us together and unite us. It’s really exciting to have our work shown, and we can continue to expand and show more people the work we’re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Auntie
Auntie Dottie, Vincent Medina, Louis Trevino, and other members of the tappenek\u0161ekma cut the ribbon to open yuutka<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Other honorees included Emma Wang, Janet Barnes, Jenny Hartigan, Teresa Barnett, Leonor I. Rebosura, Dr. Signe White, Annette Chan, Saul Cuevas-Landeros, and Blanca O. Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event also featured the unveiling of yuutka<\/em> \u2014 the Chochenyo word for \u201cplace of the acorn\u201d \u2014 an interactive installation co-created with Ohlone youth from the tappenek\u0161ekma Ohlone Science Diplomats program. The exhibit centers Ohlone knowledge, intergenerational learning and relationships to the land, and officially opened with a ribbon-cutting led by Ohlone youth diplomats, community leaders and partners \u2014 counting down in Chochenyo, the first language of the East Bay: Kaphan\u2026 Uthin\u2026 Himmen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The celebration closed with a community gathering in Forces that Shape the Bay featuring Ohlone-forward breakfast items from the \u2018ammatka Cafe, as guests explored the transformed space and the stories behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lobby is officially open to all visitors. Come find your story in it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 17, The Lawrence celebrated the opening of our new lobby and honored the Community Science Heroes and Ohlone Science Diplomats who made it possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":44178,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,428],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44171","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-news-and-updates"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44177,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44171\/revisions\/44177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencehallofscience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}