San Diego’s newest classroom on wheels rolled out yesterday, trading textbooks for touchscreens and turning a trailer into a traveling Holocaust museum. Spark Interactive, a custom-built mobile exhibit that delivers immersive Holocaust education to schools and community centers across the county, was unveiled inside a hangar at Montgomery Field. Organizers say the rolling museum pairs survivor testimony with digital exhibits and guided discussions to help students link history to present-day lessons about hate, propaganda and civic responsibility.
Unveiling at Montgomery Field
The debut drew Mayor Todd Gloria, community leaders and elderly Holocaust survivors to Montgomery Field for an indoor ceremony that felt part ribbon-cutting, part history lesson. Darren Schwartz, founding director of the Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute, said the project forces the question “how will future generations truly understand what happened?” and emphasized the need for survivor-centered education. Mayor Gloria recalled an elementary-school librarian who bore a survivor number and said the mobile museum will help “keep the promise to never forget,” according to Times of San Diego.
How the Mobile Museum Works
Spark Interactive is the Goldberg Institute’s flagship program, a mobile museum and classroom designed to travel to campuses and neighborhood sites rather than wait for students to come to it. The core classroom experience runs about 90 minutes, is built for middle and high school learners, and is currently offered at no cost thanks to philanthropic underwriting. Schools can request a visit through the institute’s booking process and receive pre-visit materials and post-visit curriculum, according to Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute.
Design, Tech and Donors
Once parked and opened, the exhibit expands to roughly 560 square feet and features interactive video walls that allow students to tap into archival material and survivor testimony, turning heavy history into a tactile and visual learning experience. The project launched with a multi-million-dollar lead gift from Lee Goldberg and the Goldberg family and is supported by other Jewish organizations as well as the Prebys Foundation. Grant Oliphant of the Prebys Foundation, the first non-Jewish organizational supporter, said that “the Holocaust’s lessons belong to every single one of us,” as reported by Times of San Diego.
Why It Matters in Classrooms Now
The rollout lands at a time when districts and educators are wrestling with how to teach difficult history while responding to increased antisemitic incidents and misinformation. The Jewish Federation of San Diego recently brought district leaders together to discuss implementing California’s AB 715 and to train administrators on accuracy and remediation procedures. AB 715 created an Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator and new investigatory tools within the state’s Office of Civil Rights, changing how schools review alleged discriminatory instruction. Local leaders say Spark Interactive offers a vetted, survivor-centered resource for classrooms, according to Jewish Federation of San Diego and the bill text at the California Legislature.
Booking and Reach
Organizers say Spark Interactive will be available to schools and community centers across San Diego County, though they expect demand to outpace availability. Districts and community groups interested in scheduling visits are encouraged to contact the Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for dates, logistics and educator resources. More information about the program and inquiries are available on the institute’s Spark Interactive page, according to Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute.
