Educational Programs Contents Page Program Overview 1 Public Programs Exhibit Activities 4 • Chinese Zodiac Bookmarks 5 • Make and Play Jianzi 9 • Chinese Hand Drums 11 • Chinese Paper Lanterns 13 • Paper Cutting 15 Performances and Workshops 23 • Suggested Programs 24 • Community Resources 28 • BCM Program Calendar 30 Large Scale Public Programs 32 • Holiday and Festival Dates 33 • Additional Activities o Nianhua Block Prints 34 o Dragon Boat Puppets 36 • Sample Programs 38 o Dragon Boat Festival o Autumn Moon Festival o Chinese New Year 2008 School Programs 41 • Children’s Life in China 42 • Arts of China 57 Resources 65 • Notes on Chinese Language and Pronunciation 66 • Glossary 69 • Books 72 • Online Sources 77 • Additional Resources 79 Program Overview The programs that have been developed for the exhibit Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China are defined in two broad categories: Public Programs for regular family visitors and School Programs for visiting school groups. Three levels of public programs include: floor kits led by museum educators and floor staff; performances and workshops, where visiting artists both from China and the local community are invited to share their expertise; and museum-wide festivals, which combine these two elements. Two school programs have been developed to give students a more in-depth experience in the exhibit. The first program “Children’s Life in China” allows students to “meet” one of the children featured in the exhibit and compare and contrast his or her life with their own. The second program “Arts of China” explores brush painting and opera to give students an opportunity to experience traditional Chinese culture. Depending on the host museum’s staffing and budget capacities/constraints, any number of these programs can be scheduled during the exhibit run. For reference, the full program calendar for Children of Hangzhou for the Boston exhibit run and the BCM School Programs brochure are included in the Educational Manual. The following is a brief summary of each type of program, and a list of what is included in this section of the manual. Public Programs 1. Exhibit Activities : Floor Kits are simple kit boxes that correspond to themes found within the exhibit. Each kit includes: activity materials, instructions, and background information. The kits are meant to be simple enough to be taken off the shelf and led by any floor staff person. The intention is that the kit activities be conducted inside of the exhibit space, or in a nearby area outside of the exhibit. Kits should enrich the visitor experience and can be used when staff is available and crowds are not too overwhelming. Included in the Education Manual are copies of the instructions, templates, and background information found in each kit: • Chinese Zodiac Bookmarks • Make and Play Jianzi —Chinese Shuttlecock • Chinese Hand Drums • Chinese Paper Lanterns • Paper Cutting 2. Performances and Workshops : In order to enrich the cultural experience and bring an authentic taste of China to our visitors, a number of performances and workshops were scheduled in Boston throughout the exhibit run. Most of these programs were scheduled for 20-30 minutes in a suitable museum space, either a stage or classroom type area. These suggested programs are meant to correspond to a theme/space within the exhibit. Ideally, these programs will be taught by Museum educators with © Boston Children’s Museum, 2008 1 content knowledge of China, or by local China specialists—performance groups, language teachers, etc—who are interested in sharing Chinese culture with museum visitors. Suggested activities include: • Traditional Music Concert • Martial Arts Demonstration • Opera or Dance Performance • Rice Dough Sculpture Workshop • Calligraphy or Painting Workshop 3. Large Scale Public Programs : Large Scale Public Programs are museum-wide “festivals” that we suggest take place at least once during the exhibit run. These special events bring visibility to the Museum and allow for greater collaboration with the community and local China-related organizations. They are also opportunities for in-house collaboration among different departments within the museum—so that the entire museum becomes invested in and involved with the Children of Hangzhou exhibit. For example, work with other museum educators to create connections between exhibits on a museum-wide basis. The Education Manual includes sample programs for three festivals: • Dragon Boat Festival ( Duanwu jie 端午节) • Mid-Autumn Moon Festival ( Zhongqiu jie 中秋节) • Chinese New Year Festival ( Chun jie 春节) Matrix of Public Programming Exhibit Space /Child Floor Kits Workshops/Performances Large Scale Public Programs Apartment/Weicheng Zodiac Bookmarks Traditional Music Concert Food Festival: Work with local Chinese restaurants to provide tasting samples School/Gangzheng Jianzi Martial Arts Demonstration Fitness Fair: Invite dancers, martial artists, and yo-yo players for a day of fun Theatre/Qianyun Hand Drums Opera or Dance Performance Music Festival: Invite local Chinese musicians to give a concert Countryside/Doudou Paper Lanterns Rice Dough Sculpture Craft Fair: Learn more about Workshop traditional Chinese folk arts Pavilion Paper Cutting Calligraphy or Painting Chinese Holiday Festival: Workshops Cultural Celebration © Boston Children’s Museum, 2008 2 School Programs The School Programs for Children of Hangzhou allow for in-depth (one-hour) focus on the lives of contemporary Chinese children at school, at home, and beyond. These programs utilize materials— objects, photographs, tools—that are otherwise not necessarily available in the exhibit. The Arts of China program also provides an opportunity to expand on traditional Chinese culture by incorporating lessons on Chinese opera and brush painting. School programs should be taught by knowledgeable Museum educators. Sufficient training and preparation ahead of time is essential. Pre- and Post-Visit Information sent to classroom teachers who have made a reservation for a school program provide excellent suggestions for preparing the students before they come and following-up with their class after their museum visit. Included in the Education Manual are: BCM’s school program brochure, Pre- and Post-Visit Information to be sent to classroom teachers in advance of their visit, and the program teaching instructions: In-exhibit program: Children’s Life in China (Grade K-7) Come experience children’s life in contemporary China. Through stories of real children, students learn aspects of life in China in depth and through comparison relate what they learn to their own lives in the United States. The program provides a general introduction and small group activity. This program begins with an introduction to Chinese spoken and written language. Students will learn to say a few words in Chinese. Next, using the maps in the exhibit, students will engage in a brief look at Chinese geography (as appropriate to grade level). Issues to be discussed will include: locating China on a world map; locating China in Asia; examining the diversity of land forms in China and discussing implications; comparing the size of China with other countries; looking at population density and distribution; and discussing the implications of density. Groups of students will then “meet” a particular Hangzhou youth, and learn a particular activity with him/her, which will be shared with the rest of the class at the end of the program. Museum classroom program: Arts of China (Grade 2-7) Through immersion in a life-like environment of contemporary China, introduce students to the background and the rich experiences of the arts. In this two-part program, explore the art of Chinese painting, calligraphy, and Chinese opera. Staff will guide students in using traditional materials (brushes, ink, rice paper) in writing and painting as well as helping the class to try out different aspects of Chinese opera, learning key movements, trying on costumes, trying out musical instruments, and recreating a scene from the classic folk tale “White Snake Lady.” © Boston Children’s Museum, 2008 3 Public Programs Exhibit Activities Floor Kits are simple kit boxes that correspond to themes found within the exhibit. Each kit includes: activity materials, instructions, and background information. The kits are meant to be simple enough to be taken off the shelf and led by any floor staff person. The intention is that the kit activities be conducted inside of the exhibit space, or in a nearby area outside of the exhibit. Kits should enrich the visitor experience and can be used when staff is available and crowds are not too overwhelming. Each of the following kit activities relates to one of the five main areas within the Children of Hangzhou exhibit—school, apartment, theatre, countryside, and pavilion. The kits can be used individually to help emphasize the life and interests of one of the four children, or the kits can be used in combination for a Chinese cultural celebration or special event. Suggestions are also included for how these activities may be related to other museum exhibits, such as science, health and fitness, or the arts. Make and Play Jianzi Chinese Hand Drums A floor kit in the exhibit © Boston Children’s Museum, 2008 4 Chinese Zodiac Bookmarks Huang Dao Dai 黄道带 Exhibit Space : Apartment / Weicheng Weicheng’s kitchen has a Chinese zodiac wheel. Learn more about Chinese astrology through this simple activity. Program Length/Audience : • Activity can be set up for 1-2 hours.