On November 14th The American Museum of Natural History opened a new exhibit called "Traveling The Silk Road: Ancient Pathway To The Modern World." I had a chance to check the exhibit out along with a colleague, Tom Conte, who just came back from a year in China and Mongolia.
The exhibit concentrates on the journey of silk merchants from X'ian China to Baghdad: 4500 miles of desert, mountains and valleys that took over 6 months by land.
The exhibit begins in Xian, which was the capital of China. This is where the silk is manufactured from silk worm cocoons that are harvested and unraveled as a single thread that could be as long a 3000 feet! There is a display of cocoons and live silk worms which should delight the kids. There are also displays of silk fabrics from Japan and a video that covers the process of unraveling the cocoons.
The journey continues on to Turfan, a city located in a fertile oasis. Here you are treated to a night market set up under a trellis of grape vines which, according to Tom, is still a common site today in that area. The kids will enjoy the Sniff Test where they can sample the smells of perfumed oils that were traded in the markets.
This is followed by Samarkand, where paper making is the focus of the exhibit. There are examples of cuneiform, clay tablets, papyrus and parchment on display, as well as a spot for the kids to sit and listen to fairy tales from "The Silk Road."
The trip ends in Baghdad, where hand blown glass was the stock in trade. There are examples of different kinds of glass art and other technology of that time period. There's an interactive map where kids can see how different items were moved and traded along "The Silk Road."
At the end of the exhibit, you and the kids can test your new found knowledge with a quiz on the material covered.
Overall the exhibit had enough activities and information to keep a wide variety of age groups occupied. If you have kids studying "The Silk Road," or are interested in the areas covered by the exhibit, definitely take some time to visit this exhibit.
