If we look at a dictionary definition, “power” is mainly described as an ability, a force, or a capacity to do something. This noun characterizes a lot of different possibilities and situations all around us. But honestly, when we speak of power, many of us may feel uncomfortable. Almost as if we were bordering on a taboo subject. Easily, the idea of power carries a lot of weight; sorrow, injustice, inequality, and hardships imposed on others (or on ourselves). 

Let’s face it; power has a bad rep. And perhaps it is unfair to see power in only this light.

The subject of power is almost limitless. We can be referring to the power of nature, of the sun, of kindness, knowledge, of good leadership - power isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Power just is. 

So why not openly discuss this topic with students? If we forgo the taboo aspect of this topic and honestly discuss it with students, it will certainly enable our students to embody more acutely, several of the IB Learner Profiles, such as being open-minded, principled, reflective, thinkers, knowledgeable, and balanced actors of power. 

This exhibit focuses on developing strategies to help students identify power structures, and how they affect them, while also guiding them to understand how they too, may be actors in this subject, affecting those around them. We will investigate how power flows, affects, and even connects the universe around us.

 A bit like a power user’s manual. 

The show will engage the visitors with provocations such as; why do we seek power? Who do you exert power over? Who exerts power over you? Can we be free of power? Is power inherently bad? What are the power relations in your class or grade? How do I show power? What forms of power can be positive? Where is power?

These and other questions will be the base of this new MuseOn exhibit, where power is dissected, examined, and categorized into this type of “manual”, to be used by the student, who as a learner will no doubt benefit from understanding a force that governs all things, while touching base with the school’s vision and strategy of inspiring your personal best. And as visitors, perhaps these students will exit the exhibit with a different perspective on power, distinct from when they entered, seeing it then in a vastly more constructive and collective form.