Rituals & Celebrations

In Korea, paper fans are used in a traditional dance called buchaechum, which is often performed by groups of female dancers wearing colored hanboks (Korean traditional dress). Through dance choreography and movement, the fans express the beauty of nature by creating impressions of flowers, butterflies, and water.

The Chinese Zodiac is based on a twelve-year cycle and each year is linked to an animal. Find your birth year and color in your zodiac animal.

In this activity, you’ll learn how to make no-sew bojagi that you can use to wrap a gift for a special person in your life.

Chinese operas are very long and feature complex narratives with a large number of characters. Have fun coloring in these sheets based on Chinese opera prints in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Did you know there are over 100 ways to wear a sari? How a sari is draped can tell you about the occasion, the regional origin, and maybe even the social status of the wearer. Learn about two styles of Indian sari and then design your own on the provided template.

Inspired by Okamura and the Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, students will learn about California’s water distribution and drought through the integration of science, math, and art.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Leta Bushyhead, tells a story about the Persian New Year, Nowruz.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Leta Bushyhead, tells a new year story about Jizo, a deity whose statues are a common sight throughout Japan, especially by roadsides. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children.

An introduction to the Rama epic produced for the Asian Art Museum by filmmaker and cultural historian Benoy K. Behl, featuring performances from across South and Southeast Asia.

There are many performing arts in Bali, and one of the most famous today is a type of dance called Legong dancing which involves mostly young girls who are trained from a very young age. The Bali: Art, Ritual Performance exhibition is on view at the Asian Art Museum from February 25–September 11, 2011.