Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Although I was sad to miss Saturday’s session, it gave me the opportunity to visit the Pacific Asia Museum, which I probably would never have visited otherwise. Even though the museum is small, it has a wide variety of displays. My favorite would have to be the room with pieces of jade. The intricate details obtained with such simple tools absolutely amaze me. It also features a central garden with a koi pond that is beautiful. As far as how you can use this with your students, they offer free entrance to school groups. Not only is the entrance free, they also provided a docent led tour plus a “one-hour hands-on workshop taught by a local artist.” All you have to do is find a way to get your class there (difficult, but not impossible) and book a date. You can visit their website by going to http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org. Just as an aside – I picked up an interesting newspaper with information on Asian art and other cultural events in the area. You can check it out online by going to http://www.culturalnews.com. Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Living in Altadena, next to Pasadena, I pass the museum all the time. After your review of the place I will have to go and see what is going on. There are few museums that allow our students to attend for free and that is a big plus, especially in these days of dwindling budgets and strained resources. I have always appreciated Japanese art for its incredible beauty and simplicity. Thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us. My class and I will be the benefactors.

[Anonymous]

I hope you will be able to go. They have a cool room they call the "Family Room" where they have samples of traditional Asian clothing you can try on. My students would love that!

[Anonymous]

Last year a fellow teacher and I took our students to the Pacific Asian Museum. It was a great experience for all. We took a tour and had a lesson on the art of the writing. The students were fascinated by the beauty of the museum and the the writing lesson, as well as the Metro trip to Pasadena. Yes, it is small, but well worth the trip.

[Anonymous]

My mother's fascination with Asian culture has prompted a visit there before. In fact, we have visited many Japanese and Chinese gardens throughout the country. I seem to recall several in Florida and New York.

Your review is going to send me on a return trip to Pasadena to see the museum with newly opened eyes to the culture and ways to use it in my instruction.

Thanks for the tip.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the tip! I had never even heard of this museum, and I love the Pasadena area. What a great resource both for students and lifelong learners.

[Anonymous]

The museum also has a great gift shop. I bought a pair of Jade earring made by a local artist. I wear these now to show my students what Jade looks like. It's amazing what I assume my students know.

[Anonymous]

I loved visiting this meuseum as well! Although several of the exhibits were fascinating (I was there for well over 5 hours!), the most enjoyable part for me was sitting in their garden and listening to the fountains after taking in the history and artifacts and reviewing my notes. The museum's website has lots of the exhibits, but like with any meuseum, nothing beats seeing them up close.

[Anonymous]

the Pacific Asia Museum is really interesting. I pass by it regularly and yet have not gone to see it in ages. I love the way the architecture stands out from all the buildings around it.
The first time I went, my principal took a minimum day to send us all out to explore museums for possible field trips. We went in groups and then discussed them at a later faculty meeting. It was fun, helped us get to know each other (I was a new teacher) and get to know different places around LA that might be included in our lessons. Such and interesting Professional Development that we could actually use.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the great idea Stacy! I'm going to try it out during our break from school and see if a field trip would be feasible. Maybe if enough of us from Santa Clarita got together on this, we could share the cost of renting the buses.

[Anonymous]

The only problem might be that the museum is rather small. I don't know how many they can accommodate, but it couldn't hurt to look into it!

[Anonymous]

From Feb 19th-Aug 9th at the PAc Asia Museum is the Samarai Re-Imagined From Ukiy-e to Anime exhibit bringing the past to the present in the artistic culture of the Samarai. If you are also a Buddhist buff, the museum also has a great site for Buddhist art.
M. Herrera

[Author]

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