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Pilot program teachers hear from indigo expert Jenny Balfour-Paul, a partner in the Silk Road Connect program

9/16/2009 3:23:00 PM

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Silk Road Ensemble shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki and percussionist Shane Shanahan improvise before a discussion with teachers

9/16/2009 3:24:00 PM

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Shane Shanahan leads teachers in a drum circle—an activity similar to one of the workshops visiting artists will conduct in classrooms

9/16/2009 3:24:00 PM

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Silk Road Project Program Director Isabelle Hunter (right) discusses the Silk Road Connect vision and classroom priorities with teachers from two of the pilot schools

9/16/2009 3:24:00 PM

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Jenny Balfour-Paul helps teachers prepare woolen yarn and cotton and silk fabric for dyeing

9/16/2009 3:23:00 PM

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Teachers bind woolen yarn with plastic, creating patterns that will resist the dye

9/16/2009 3:23:00 PM

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Teachers wear gloves for safety as they dip their yarn into the dye vats

9/16/2009 3:22:00 PM

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Bunching and wrapping cloth around PVC tubes is another method of creating patterns

9/16/2009 3:22:00 PM

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Teachers dye with indigo in three shifts

9/16/2009 3:22:00 PM

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A look inside a heated dye vat

9/16/2009 3:21:00 PM

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When it first emerges from the dye vat, the fabric is green; it turns blue when it interacts with oxygen

9/16/2009 3:21:00 PM

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Teachers hang their dyed material on racks to dry

9/16/2009 3:20:00 PM

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The areas of this yarn covered in plastic will resist the dye, creating unique patterns

9/16/2009 3:20:00 PM

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Drying the material before a second dip; multiple dips in the dye vat create deeper colors

9/16/2009 3:19:00 PM

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After the final dip, the dyed cloths are unwrapped and rinsed to reveal spectacular patterns

9/16/2009 3:19:00 PM

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Seeing the indigo-dyed fabric revealed creates a festive atmosphere

9/16/2009 3:19:00 PM

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The courtyard where teachers dye faces a playground, where the procedure piques curiosity from local schoolchildren

9/16/2009 3:18:00 PM

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A proud display of the finished indigo-dyed cloth

9/16/2009 3:18:00 PM

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Teachers pinning their indigo samples to the fence to dry

9/16/2009 3:17:00 PM

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Anna Commitante, Director of English Language Arts and Social Studies with the NYC Department of Education, with dyer Linda LaBelle

9/16/2009 3:17:00 PM

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Teachers are introduced to National Geographic’s Genographic Project, which uses DNA analysis to trace ancient human migratory routes

9/16/2009 3:16:00 PM

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Teachers swab their cheeks to provide DNA samples to the Genographic Project; after a couple of months, they will be an analysis of their deep ancestry

9/16/2009 3:16:00 PM

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Teachers share their hopes for the Silk Road Connect pilot year

9/16/2009 3:16:00 PM

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The indigo swatches dyed by teachers hang in the meeting room for all to see during the rest of the workshop

9/16/2009 3:15:00 PM

New York, U.S. – Silk Road Connect Camp
August 31-September 1, 2009

Silk Road Connect—a multi-year, multidisciplinary educational program for middle school students—launched with a workshop for educators taking part in the 2009-2010 pilot program in New York City.

Having spent the spring and summer planning with educational experts and preparing materials, the Silk Road Project staff was eager to meet the teams of sixth-grade teachers from five public schools chosen for the pilot program:

East Bronx Academy for the Future
Edward Bleeker Jr. High School 185Q (Queens)
Frederick Douglass Academy III (Bronx)
PS 161M (Manhattan)
The Young Women’s Leadership School of Brooklyn

Silk Road Connect inspires passion-driven learning by empowering students and teachers to seek connections across all areas of study and to follow their interests from the familiar to the foreign. The program integrates teaching resources, school assemblies, classroom activities and visits by performing artists, community festivals and cultural explorations.

In its pilot year, Silk Road Connect focuses on the dye indigo—a substance that colors every student’s blue jeans—as a way to connect social studies, ancient history, language arts, mathematics, science, and the visual and performing arts.

In New York City, the Silk Road Project is partnering with the Department of Education and several arts and cultural organizations to enrich sixth-grade students’ experiences. The following Silk Road Connect partners presented at the workshop:

Will Crow from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rebecca Charnow from Manhattan School of Music
Stefanie Fins from the American Museum of Natural History
A team from National Geographic’s Genographic Project
Anna Commitante from the Department of Education
Shane Shanahan and Kojiro Umezaki from the Silk Road Ensemble
Dyer Linda LaBelle from the Yarn Tree
Indigo expert Jenny Balfour-Paul

Over two days, Silk Road Connect Camp began the planning process with participating schools. The teachers also had fun! In addition to receiving resources, meeting partners, asking questions, and discussing classroom implementation, teachers played in a drum circle, dyed with indigo, and submitted DNA samples to the Genographic Project for analysis of ancient human migratory patterns—all activities that Silk Road Connect will introduce to their students.

Together, partners and educators are developing Silk Road Connect throughout the pilot year. In subsequent years, the program may open to a wider group of participants in New York City and expand to other cities, with the goal of inspiring similar educational approaches.

Participating Artists

Shane Shanahan, percussion
Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi

New York, U.S. – Silk Road Connect CampAugust 31-September 1, 2009

Participating Artists

New York, U.S. – Silk Road Connect Camp
August 31-September 1, 2009