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  • Images of people with plants in a colorful design with the text ¡Plantástica!

¡Plantásticas!
Our Lives with Plants

March 23–September 10, 2023

Get to know the wonderful world of las plantas! From maíz to marigolds, plants shape our cultura and our planet. Take a look at plants from many angles—food, science, gardening, and more. Touch plants, grind them up and smell them, study them under microscopes, and meet the gente who care for them. 

¡Plantásticas! was developed with collaborators from the Latinx and Indigenous communities. Relax in immersive plant installations by Los Angeles artist Andi Xoch (#LatinxWithPlants), dig into Indigenous plant knowledge with Cafe Ohlone’s Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, and more. Plus don’t miss a plant-tastic series of programs for all ages. Come enjoy this new multilingual exhibition and 600+ interactive exhibits with toda la familia! #Plantasticas

Buy Tickets
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Leer en Español
Free for members. Not a member yet? Join us today.
 
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Exhibits and Artwork

Plant Tunes
Plant Tunes

Connect with a plant to make music.

Eternal Spring
Eternal Spring

Can gardens transport you to another place?

Scent Memories
Scent Memories

Plant scents can evoke powerful memories.

Events

There's always something interesting happening here—check out our upcoming events calendar.

Meet the Collaborators

Andi Xoch, Latinx with Plants

Based in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, artist Andi Xoch founded Latinx with Plants to create beautiful environments that help people in the Latinx community to appreciate and connect with plants.

For ¡Plantásticas!, she developed two plant-based installations—inspired by the front yard garden of Elizabeth Montufar and community gardens in Boyle Heights.

 


Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, Ohlone Cultural Leaders

As Ohlone people focused on sustaining their traditional culture, Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino have spent years working to gain fluency in the languages and old-time culinary traditions of their people.

Vincent and Louis curated some of the content for the Scent Memories and Story Slides exhibits, and they’re featured in a series of four videos exploring the integral role of plants in Ohlone cultural traditions.

hityum-t tiwšina mak-nuunu, Vincent Medina ‘at Louis Trevino ‘ukšeereyṭ hemmen-t miččiyamu tappen mak-noono ‘at tappen mak-’amham hinniy holše mak-warép

makkin ‘alšip ta-mak hinšuuš mak-nuunu heemete. makkin taahey ta-mak miččiya ‘at tappe wakiimimo makkin ‘iššana hoosi mak-suyyakma ‘uyyakiš. hinniy mak-miččiya, makkin tappe mak-noono, mak-‘amham, mak-nuunu. makkin hooyomak ‘amham ta-mak warép, yakmuytak.

The paragraphs above are in Chochenyo, the language spoken by Ohlone people of the East Bay.

 


Doña Maria Ávila Vera, Maya Elder

A Maya elder and plant enthusiast, Doña Maria Ávila Vera is a steward and teacher of the traditions of her ancestors. She uses her life experience and her native language, Yucatec Mayan, to pass on her traditional knowledge. She spends her time in Petaluma, California, and Mérida, Yucatán.

For ¡Plantásticas!, Doña Maria joined our community workshops on exhibition content, experience, and design, and she has presented at several public programs about corn and traditional Maya foods.

 

Related Science Snacks

Science activity that demonstrates photosynthesis
Photosynthetic Flotation

Show that gas is produced during photosynthesis.

Science activity to observe the process of plant development
Seed Germinator

Watch the life of a plant embryo unfold.

Science activity to bring vegetable scraps back to life
Vegetable Revival

Bring food scraps back to life.

Science activity to explore a developing plant embryo
See Inside a Seed

Examine the baby plants inside the seeds we eat.

Science activity to observe plant reproductive structures.
Flower Dissection

Dissect a flower to explore plant reproductive structures.

Science activity to investigate the structure of fruits.
Fruit Dissection

Investigate shared structures of fruits, and their role in reproduction. 


 

Supporters

 


Funded by a generous grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, with additional support from the Troy and Leslie Daniels Fund for Life Sciences.

 

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Science & Technology Center Award #DBI-1548297. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

 

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