Xue Kun is a doctoral candidate in Michigan’s Information Science Department. She lives on North Campus with her husband and two children, ages 4 and 6.  

Xue and her family have been in Michigan for 4 years. Her husband works on campus as a researcher focused on brain imaging at the Med School. The Kuns have two children. Yan, their daughter, is six and in 1st grade while their son Chang Li, is 4 and still in preschool.  

Still adjusting to the winter weather here in Ann Arbor, the Kuns tend to spend their summers outside and their winters inside as much as possible. They visit the museum regularly on weekends during the weekend and enjoy playing with the exhibits and learning about how they work. The Kuns speak Mandarin at home and watch movies and TV programs in Mandarin as well. One of the things they like the most about the Hands-On museum is the hands-on nature of the place. They don’t have to read perfect English or all of the instructions to learn about air pressure or how a light switch works. The science applies to life here, and life in their home country—a notable difference from the very American history lessons that Xue’s daughter Yan is learning in 1st grade. 

Xue uses a computer at school and has one at home. The home computer is primarily used by the family for communicating with loved ones back in China. They email, chat, and send videos back and forth to keep in touch. The kids are both somewhat comfortable using the computer and use email regularly. Yan often looks up resources for her homework on the computer and gets her dad to help her. She also gets her dad to download new TV shows that she misses from home over the net. 

Last year when Xue’s mother came to stay with the family for a few months, the Kuns bought a membership to the museum. Xue’s mom and the kids would go often to the museum and the children would drag their grandmother around the whole place impressing her with their knowledge of the exhibits and of the scientific forces at work in the background. Since Xue’s mom didn’t speak much English, it was a way for them all to share time and connect as a family without feeling confused or alienated—like they would often feel at the mall or the movies. They especially loved the Discovery room, where the kids would run around and bang on all the exhibits that would make a noise. When their grandma went home, everyone missed her (and they missed their trips to the museum!).

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