Upcoming Events

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Past Outreach Activities

Soyeon Jung at Roberson Museum

June 3, 2017

We invited Soyeon Jung, Visiting Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at BU to present "The Creative Practice of Cultural Identity" at Roberson Musuem.

International Children's Festival at Discovery Center

April 23, 2017; 12:30pm-2:30pm

Each year, Turkey celebrates National Sovereignty and Children’s Day on April 23. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Ataturk, dedicated April 23 to the children of Turkey to emphasize that they are the future of the new nation.

Celebrate International Children's Day at the Discovery Center by making Turkish Arts and Crafts, listening to Turkish folklore, dressing in Turkish traditional outfits and taking pictures and learning Turkish dance! Click HERE for the event flyer. 

Korean Fighter Kite Workshop by Cynthia Filetto at BC Library

October 24-25,2016; 6:00pm -7:30pm

Kites have been part of Korean history for centuries and continue to play a part in cultural observances today. The Korean fighter kite is a signature cultural artifact, with special techniques, motifs, and accessories for construction, decoration, and flying. Fighter kiting is a popular sport throughout Asia but Korean fighter kites are known for being especially fast and tough. 

The workshop will include a PowerPoint presentation about Korea and Korean kites. The students will make a fighter kite by decorating their kite paper with paint or paper appliqué and assembling. 

Persian Rugs Workshop by Cynthia Filetto at BC Library

October 3, 2016; 6:00pm -7:30pm

The Ramayana by Durga Bor at BC Library

September 27, 2016; 6:00pm -7:00pm

The Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic poem ascribed to the Hindu sage and Sanskrit poet Valmiki. It is regarded as one of the two great works of Indian literature, along with the Mahabharata. The Ramayana also plays an important role in Hindu literature. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife, and the ideal king. It is performed through various performance mediums throughout Southeast and South Asia.

This is a slide presentation, which tells the core story of the Ramayana with a narrative for each slide. Each slide is taken from a different performance medium such as dance, puppetry and painting, in sequence of the story. At the end the students engage in a movement workshop where they learn how to portray the main characters of the story through Indian classical dance movements. 

Moon Festival Rabbit lanterns at Colorscape Arts Festival

September 10-11, 2016; 11:00am -2:00pm

The Legend of the Jade Rabbit belongs to the traditional Mid-Autumn Chinese Moon Festival and tells the story of the rabbit on the moon. Learn how to make rabbit lanterns that glow in the dark! 

BU Day at the Mall: Lunar Year Crafts and Cultural Activities

02/20/2016; 11:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. 

Celebrate the Lunar Year by making monkey paper crafts and learning about the story of Monkey King. Learn about different Asian countries and have your name written in another language. 

Boys and Girls Club: Korean Tiger

02/19/2016

The Boys and Girls Club gave a presentation about Korean culture and children made tiger crafts. Tigers are a symbol of luck and power in Korea. 

Lunar Year Celebration at the East Middle School

02/06/2016

The Southern Tier Chinese Cultural Association hosted a Chinese New Year Celebration at East Middle School. Children listened to the story of Monkey King (Journey to the West) and made monkey papercuts. 

Tajik Presentations at Union-Endicott High School by Fuzayl Noraliev

11/13/2015

Fuzayl Noraliev, a BU student from Tajikistan, presented about his country to 2 government classes and 1 sociology class at Union-Endicott High School. His presentations covered topics on Tajik customs and traditions, education system, and the Civil War.   

Fuzayl can speak five languages and studied abroad in Turkey before coming to the U.S. 

Monkey King Mask Painting at BU

11/08/2015; 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Outreach art teacher, Maxine Rosenberg, taught Binghamton University students how to paint a Monkey King mask. This project incorporated the art, history, and culture of the Chinese Literature Journey to the West and Beijing Opera and was sponsored by the Chinese American Student Union and the Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas.

Family Weekend: Cultural Crafts for Kids at BU Art Museum

10/24/2015; 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.

The BU Art Museum hosted a paper sheep craft and origami event. There were several projects available for kids K-12. This event was sponsored by the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera and the Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas.

Japanese Kimono Presentation and Origami Workshop at the Jewish Community Center

10/09/2015; 11:00 a.m. - noon

The Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas gave a presentation on Kimono for children at JCC, covering topics on the history and use of Kimono, the kinds of images and patterns used for Kimono design and what they symbolized. Older children also learned to make Japanese Shiori Ningyo- Japanese bookmark dolls.