Explore images and stories of animals from across Asia. This selection of resources support the Animal Tales storytelling school program at the Asian Art Museum.
Students gain an appreciation and understanding of art and culture, and build language skills by reading; developing scripts; making choices about gesture, voice, and expression; and performing traditional stories alongside art objects in the Asian Art Museum’s collection galleries.
Observe and discuss how artist Santiago Bose uses cultural symbols and artistic methods as post-colonial critique.
Introduce your students to the life and teachings of the Buddha and trace the spread of Buddhism through Asia.
This selection of resources unpacks main ideas, stories, and practices of Buddhism and Hinduism in South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, both historically and today. All selections compliment the Buddhism and Hinduism in Art: Gods, Demons, and Avatars school tour at the Asian Art Museum.
Shadow puppet performances were popular forms of entertainment in Thailand. Create your own shadow puppet and perform a scene from the the Ramayana.
Create Balinese shadow puppets with these downloadable templates.
Students express the Balinese concept of working together to create a community by applying the kecak musical pattern of interlocking parts to "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and design their own chant using words or sounds to represent their characters.
Students become familiar with the Hindu concept of dharma as it is expressed in the Bhagavad Gita.
Students are introduced to the Ramayana (Story of Rama) and recall events by sequencing related art objects on a Story Hill. Then students make connections between artistic and literary depictions of character by comparing Vishnu and Ravana.
In groups, students will discuss how artists communicate events and characters by observing and describing scenes in the scroll containing stories of Rama’s youth. Students will compare the context of this scroll’s use with those of scrolls illustrating other epics. Then they will create a biographical scroll from the perspective of a character in the Ramayana (The Life of Rama).
Learn to fold a paper lotus flower using simple origami techniques.
Students will research objects from the Asian Art Museum’s collection and choose one that they think will earn the most money in the marketplace. Then, they will create a commercial to try to sell their object to the class using evidence as to why the object/idea was considered valuable at the time.
Students brainstorm the qualities of good and evil and draw conclusions about the Balinese concept of “dynamic” or balanced opposites. Then, students will relate the idea of “dynamic opposites” in the Ramayana (Story of Rama) to present-day situations by identifying a current problem, creating a visual identify for their own pair of opposing characters, and scripting a dialogue.
This selection of resources introduces stories of courageous acts performed by ordinary men, women, girls, and boys. Resources support the Heroes and Sheroes storytelling school program at the Asian Art Museum.
Students will be able to identify the characteristics of Krishna as a child.
Students will: 1.) analyze the role of the puppet master (dalang) in Indonesian rod puppet theater (wayang golek). 2.) Read a summary of the Ramayana or a scene from this Hindu epic. 3.) Identify the different puppet character types. 4.) construct a rod puppet of a character from the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.
Make a monkey puppet in celebration of the Year of the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac.
Students will: 1.) Examine the history and stories told in Indonesian rod puppet theater (wayang golek). 2.) Discuss how storytelling reflects the religious, cultural, and moral values of a people. 3.) Discuss how the jester characters express the political and social concerns of the common people. 4.) Read a summary of the Ramayana or the Mahabarata, or scenes from these Hindu epics. 5.) Reenact a scene from the Ramayana or the Mahabharata using the puppet master (dalang) performance outlines written by Kathy Foley.
Students use visual evidence to convey character by constructing a visual identity for their shadow puppet, and demonstrate principles of shadow-casting and puppet-making by performing their shadow play.
This collection of resources explores movement of goods, people, and ideas along the Silk Roads. Activities support the Silk and Spice Roads school tour at the Asian Art Museum.
In Thailand, people build small spirit houses in front of their homes and businesses to bring good luck to the people living and working inside. Spirit houses can be found nearly everywhere in Thailand, from the busy city to the remote villages in the north. Create your own spirit house with these easy to follow instructions and template.
This selection of resources support the stART storytelling school program at the Asian Art Museum.
This selection of resources introduces stories and characters from South and Southeast Asia. Resources support the Stories from South and Southeast Asia storytelling school program at the Asian Art Museum.
Students trace the movement of Hinduism, and one of its primary stories, the Story of Rama (The Ramayana), from India to Bali, Indonesia; discuss how stories change and are reinterpreted according to time and place; and make comparisons between characters in the Story of Rama and the film series Star Wars.
Students will: 1.) discuss storytelling, a tradition that is passed down and preserved orally; 2.) examine how storytellers use voice, movement, drama, and music to tell a story; 3.) examine the Indonesian storytelling tradition using rod puppets (wayang golek). 4.) read a summary of the Ramayana or a scene from this Hindu epic; 5.) analyze a character from the Ramayana.
Use this collection of resource to prepare your students for their visit to the exhibition The Rama Epic: Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe on view at the Asian Art Museum Oct. 21, 2016-Jan. 15, 2017.
Lesson on the individual rituals performed by Muslim pilgrims during the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Trace the spread of Buddhism through close looking at Buddhist objects from different regions. Explore how artifacts reveal distinct local traditions as well as common ideas and motifs.
Students explore the characters and themes in the Story of Rama, making connections between the epic and their lives today.
This selection of resources introduces stories of trickster characters from across Asia. Resources support the Tricksters! storytelling school program at the Asian Art Museum.
