PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Mobile Museum of Tolerance advocates for education as a means to address the rising levels of hate and division observed nationally over the past two years.

 

Melissa Mott, Simon Wiesenthal Center's executive vice president of education programs and strategies said the museum is a free, traveling education center fully funded by the state legislature as part of a $61.47 billion fiscal year 2026 budget, which included funding for education filed by Rep. Ken Gordon.

 

Of that, $875,000 went to adding the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Mobile Museum of Tolerance Bus to Massachusetts. 

 

"Students want to do something to make their world better, and they really do. They are looking for connection with each other, Mott said.  "And they're looking for a place and a space in which to talk about the issues that are impacting them on an everyday basis, whether that's in the broader social, political climate, or whether that's just an issue that they're having within the classroom or the school."  

 

She said the program was implemented four years ago, with the first bus opening in Illinois. It has expanded to California, Florida, New York, and now Massachusetts. 

 

She added that the popular program is often booked out two years in some states.  

 

In partnership with the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and Berk12, the Tolerance Museum's first stop is Berkshire County.