“Engaging with communities traditional science organisations may not reach”
The Mixed Museum's Mindsets + Missions project exploring the lives of DNA testing in the lives of a group of ‘brown babies’ – descendents of Black GIs born in Britain during and after World War Two – has entered a new phase. Learn about the development of the project, from an essential period of connection and sharing, to a more outward-looking phase of science engagement.
The Mixed Museum’s Mindsets + Missions programme activities
It’s now over a year since The Mixed Museum began regular meetings with a group of wartime ‘brown babies’, their children and grandchildren at the start of a collaborative project exploring the role of DNA testing in their lives.
Created as a result of the Mindsets + Missions programme – which aimed to boost science engagement with what the scheme called ‘underrepresented groups’ – the project was initially designed to help foster greater understanding of the science of DNA.
But many of the more than 30 family members who joined the project, who are the children and descendants of Black American GIs stationed in Britain during and after World War Two and white British women, had never met others with similar experiences to them. It quickly became clear to the project team that a period of togetherness and sharing would be needed before the project moved on to exploring the ‘hard science’.
A space to share before learning the science
Dr Chamion Caballero, the Director of The Mixed Museum, says: “We have been working with Professor Lucy Bland on sharing the history of the so-called ‘brown babies’ of WW2 for several years. So although we are not a science centre, our previous work, connections and communication meant that we had the means and trust to engage people from this hidden and scattered community.
“Listening closely to what was being said in our initial meetings, we realised the group needed space to share their stories, to connect with others who shared their unique history. For some, it was the first time they’d ever met others like themselves; for others, it was the first time they’d spoken openly about their lives. In that initial excitement of meeting, science learning naturally took a back seat.”
As we’ve previously reported, this was an emotional process for all concerned. Those in the group of over 30 people range in age from 21 to 80 and are from across the UK as well as the US, Canada and Australia. In ongoing discussions, they have said they feel less alone and, in many cases, that they feel genuinely understood for the first time. Some say they feel they have “found a new family” in each other.
The group has been supported by a project team made up of Dr Chamion Caballero, Damian Hebron and Jill Anderson, who met on the Mindsets + Missions learning programme, ‘brown baby’ Arlene Nelson and Laura Smith, Freelance Editorial Director of The Mixed Museum, as well as project partner Professor Lucy Bland, on whose longstanding research the project builds, and Freelance Administrator Miranda Mercardo Gregory.
Slideshow of activities from across the project. Images: Susan Alexander Photography. for The Mixed Museum.
Monthly Zoom meetings as well as ad-hoc planning and ideation meetings from October 2023 led in turn to two in-person meet ups – a one-day event in London in June 2024 and a weekend residential in Cambridge in July 2024.
The residential event included a screening of a discussion between group members from abroad who could not attend; an official visit to lay a wreath for the group’s Black American fathers and grandfathers at the Cambridge American Cemetery; and informal visits to the Eagle Pub and Crick’s House, both important locations in the 1953 discovery of DNA by Francis Crick and James Watson, which built on research by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.
Working collaboratively for 15 months so far, the project group has found a wide range of ways of exploring their stories, including: a Creative Fund, which paid for group members’ artistic projects; a series of filmed interviews with participants sharing their life stories as well as other short films telling the story of different aspects of the project; photographic portraits with group members; and ongoing regular formal and informal Zoom meetings to explore the shared themes in group members’ experiences.
Towards an understanding of the science of DNA
After a year of sharing and meeting, it felt the group were ready to begin to focus more on the science. Since October 2024, the group has been working with the genealogist and resident Time Team expert Dr Sophie Kay to shape her delivery of private bespoke sessions on the science behind the DNA testing process, focusing on questions and topics that would be the most beneficial for members.
These sessions have covered questions from, ‘What is DNA?’ to ‘How to turn centimorgan counts into possible biological relationships’. Sophie has given an overview of the main commercial DNA testing companies, exploring what they offer, how they differ, and what to consider when choosing which company to test with – for example, the specific tools and safety offered, alongside the testing.
She has also explained the three types of test – autosomal, Y-DNA, mitochondrial – and highlighted what they're used for. In the most recent session, held remotely in January 2025, she explored the results of a live AncestryDNA test generously provided by a project group member, which helped to explain how to interpret match pages, how to identify groups of matches, and how to turn 'centimorgan counts' into possible biological relationships.
The response from the group is exemplified by Terry, one of the oldest participants, who previously had little understanding or interest in how DNA testing workeds, even though it helped him find his father's identity after a lifetime of searching. Following the first session, he emailed: “What can I say! Although considered an elder statesman, and whilst modern technology is difficult for me, last night’s presentation was amazing. The best part for me was the straightforward way Sophie explained the concept of DNA. I loved it.”
Moving from private to public sharing
Another highlight of this later phase of the project was an appearance by Chamion at the Royal Society in November 2024. She presented as part of a Mindsets + Missions panel at the annual national conference of the Association of Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC). ASDC members include the National History Museum, the Science Museum, the Francis Crick Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
She talked the audience through the evolution of the project, concluding: “Our work shows that, by prioritising community, working collaboratively and creatively – and with innovative support from funders – non-science organisations can inspire public engagement with groups that traditional organisations may not reach.”
Reflecting on the conference, she now says: “The project has been a genuinely shared endeavour, with group members shaping it all the way through. So although I presented at the conference alone, the session was a significant moment for the group as a whole.
“Many of our members have expressed how deeply encouraged they feel knowing that others are interested in their lives, experiences and thoughts on how to better recognise and share their history – along with the science that is helping bring fractured families together.”
She added: “It was also wonderful to see The Mixed Museum's work highlighted during the inspirational keynote speech of UKRI Chief Executive Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser. As she discussed, creating spaces where everybody speaks and everybody learns can be transformative in how we reclaim research and innovation to being viewed as intrinsic to all of us rather than just ‘scientists’.”
Images: 1) Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser referencing The Mixed Museum's work during her keynote speech at the ASDC national conference in November 2024. 2) Dr Chamion Caballero and Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser in conversation. Images: The Mixed Museum and ASDC.
DNA testing in the lives of ‘brown babies’ families – what happens next?
This event marked a move from the deliberately private earlier phase of the project – in which meetings were for family members affected by this history only, and the sharing of outputs took place only behind closed doors, through email and a private digital noticeboard – towards something more public.
The Mixed Museum is in the process of readying some of the content created during the project to be shared publicly, including the interviews with and portraits of project participants, where permission has been given.
“Since the summer, we have been releasing one filmed interview per week to group members, and offered a private digital space for reflection and discussion,” says Laura Smith, Freelance Editorial Director at The Mixed Museum.
“This has been a deliberately slow and careful process, with those who have taken part given time to really sit with their interviews and think about whether they want them shared with the wider world. In many cases, this is the first opportunity people have had to tell their stories to others in full, in their own words, so giving them this space to be heard has felt very important.
“As we now move towards public sharing, some have chosen to keep their stories only within their own families or the wider project group, while others want their stories to be made public to help ensure this history becomes better known. Whatever they’ve decided, we hope that this process has been a healing one.”
The Mixed Museum will be sharing outputs from the DNA testing in the lives of ‘brown babies’ families project in the coming months, aimed both at expanding knowledge of the UK’s ‘brown babies’ wartime history and making the group’s learning around DNA testing available to others outside the project. Keep an eye on our website and YouTube channel for updates, and please get in touch or donate if you would like to help fund our continued work with this group.
Learn more
Read our blogpost about the background to and start of the project, “We are not alone”
Visit the exhibition created in collaboration with Professor Lucy Bland, The ‘Brown Babies’ of World War Two
Read our blogpost about how the ‘brown babies’ history at Holnicote House is inspiring children’s fiction, Onto the page
Order Professor Lucy Bland’s book, Britain’s ‘Brown Babies’ using our Waterstones affiliate link to help fund The Mixed Museum’s work