PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Young students are leading the Mütter Museum’s entry for the 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show. And, for a second consecutive year, the project will incorporate the museum’s Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden.
“This year, we decided to involve one of our after-school youth programs called the Girls One Diaspora program,” said Jacqui Bowman, acting co-director of the Mütter Museum.
The Girls One Diaspora program is for teen girls in Philadelphia who are from Africa or are first-generation Americans from Africa and have an interest in health care or STEM.
The students used recycled and reused materials — like rice bags and leftover plywood — for almost all of the Flower Show installation, which is being submitted in the rooftop category.
“It’s been a wonderful way to introduce them to the idea of solar power as well because we will have a mini solar panel on the rooftop,” Bowman added.
The 2021 Flower Show has been moved to a later date and a new location due to the coronavirus: June 5 through 13 at FDR Park in South Philadelphia.
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“It’s going to be a bit of a challenge because our installation is outside,” said Bowman, though she’s confident her team can meet the challenge.
Despite the setbacks of the past year, Bowman said being outside will help the students create a more realistic installation.
The entry, titled “Breathe in Green, out Fire,” will display a rooftop in Lagos, Nigeria, where a young refugee escapes the stress of protests from the streets below.