By: Hannah Brevoort

As July turns to August, many of you may be thanking your past self for already scheduling a fall field trip for your students. For the rest of us, though, this time of year is when we realize that the summer is almost over and we’re less-than-prepared for the school year.

Luckily, the Ohio History Center is here for all your field trip needs! We offer many exciting and engaging programs that fit perfectly with what you’re teaching in the classroom. Explore what we have to offer by going to the field trip section of our website. Make sure to download the Field Trip Guide and watch the orientation video so you know what to expect! In this post, though, I’ll be highlighting an exhibit that you can bring your students to from now until January without a staff guide.

Bhutanese Nepali Neighbors: Photographs by Tariq Tarey is an exhibit full of incredible photographs of Bhutanese-Nepali refugees who live right here in Columbus. Bhutanese-Nepali people are ethnic Nepali who lived in neighboring Bhutan for many centuries, but who were forced to flee after the Bhutanese government violently suppressed their unique language, clothing and cultural practices beginning in the 1980s. So far, approximately 20,000 Bhutanese-Nepali refugees have passed the United States’ stringent screening processes and resettled in Columbus.

Nepal and Bhutan both border India, but not each other.

The exhibit’s photographer, Tariq Tarey, is a Columbus local who’s originally from Somalia. He captured these wonderful images by allowing his subjects to dress and pose in ways they felt most comfortable. Below each photo is a story told in the person’s own words, presented in both English and Nepali. As you let your students explore the exhibit, they’ll pick up on themes such as transition, loss and hope. During your visit, or back in your classroom, you’ll be able to connect the stories told in Bhutanese-Nepali Neighbors to the history of immigration and resettlement, the forced removal of American Indians to western reservations, your students’ own family histories and change in your local community over time.

We hope you’ll make the Ohio History Center part of your school year! For field trip reservations please email [email protected].

Bhutanese-Nepali Neighbors: Photographs by Tariq Tarey is on display at the Ohio History Center until January 7, 2018.