 
The Laughter Project
The Laughter Project, an offshoot of the exhibition, Word Play: Contemporary Art by Xu Bing, explored the pleasures and pains of conveying ideas in a foreign language. New speakers of English worked closely with Education staff, learning about the exhibition and developing their own unique voices in response to Word Play's theme of communication and miscommunication.
Teen Researchers Program
The Chola project, a complement to the The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India, reached out to teenagers in the local Indian community to make connections between the processional bronzes of the Chola period and the lives of contemporary Hindus. Teenage volunteers from the Sri Shiva Vishnu Temple, a prominent South Indian temple in the D.C. area, trained in fieldwork methodology with museum educators then went out into their own community to interview parents, grandparents, temple priests, friends and relatives. Their research resulted in labels that formed part of the exhibition and are now showcased on the exhibition web site.
Silk Road Storytelling Program
The Silk Road Storytelling program enabled local volunteers with cultural ties to the ancient Silk Road an opportunity to gain the skills to tell stories from their homelands in the museum. A CD of story highlights is now available for purchase.
|