Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Opening to the public on Saturday, September 23, Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China is an exhibition designed to engage children and families in learning about one of the oldest civilizations – and now among the most modern – in the world through some of its young people. Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China was created by Boston Children's Museum and is part of the Freeman Foundation Asian Culture Exhibit Series, funded by The Freeman Foundation and administered by Association of Children's Museums. The exhibit will be hosted by the Sciencenter through December.

"We are incredibly pleased to bring Children of Hangzhou to the Sciencenter. We believe this exhibition highlights the Sciencenter role in cultivating relationships, such as the relationship between science, culture, and history, the relationship between different cultures or the same culture over time, and the relationship between our guests and the world in which we live" said Dean Briere, Executive Director of the Sciencenter.

Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China is devoted to expanding knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of contemporary China through life in Hangzhou. In distinctively Chinese settings, Sciencenter guests will "meet" children with different interests and in different environments and learn what makes them tick. This exhibit is a bridge to learn about China and build cross-cultural understanding by dispelling stereotypes and demystifying the nation of China. The exhibit showcases a wide range of subjects, such as art symbols, what a school day is like for a student in China, the history of the Great Wall, the Chinese opera, rice planting in the countryside, and the evolution of the Chinese language.

Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China presents four children from Hangzhou at home, at school, in the library, in the theater, and in the countryside. The Hangzhou young people introduce themselves through media and the activities of their daily lives. Guests will discover that Chinese life today mixes ancient traditions with modern lifestyles and that life in China is both similar to and different from life in North America. The exhibit features original artwork created to present a unique Chinese aesthetic that delivers an immediate and unmistakable impression: You are in China.

Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China will be at the Sciencenter this fall before embarking on a three-year, 8-city U.S. tour.

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