A guide to the immersive exhibits in Indy part one (poems)

Israel/Palestine at The Children's Museum

They’ve given the treatment to Egypt, Greece, and China, showing what life is like for kids who live in those countries. Take Me There Egypt featured a vendor with a cart and a small family home. Take Me There China featured a tea shop and a panda research center. But Israel/Palestine is different. There is, for example, conflicting didactic text, depending on which side you enter the exhibit. Consider the way each side spray paints over each other’s street signs in Hebrew or Arabic. Consider the way the separation wall curves down from the ceiling dividing two people sharing one land. The mosque on one side, the Western Wall on the other. Consider the Jewish settlers setting olive groves on fire—the fire represented by orange streamers blown by a fan—and the home demolitions while Palestinian kids hurl Nerf Ball branded “Rocks” over the wall. You'll want to observe precautions around The Children's Museum employees walking around in either Israeli Defense Forces or Palestinian Authority and Hamas uniforms. Rest assured, when they fire on each other with Kalishnokovs and Uzis, they're using rubber bullets, a fact that might put you at ease. But probably not.

— Dan Grossman