The region separating China from Europe and Western Asia is not the most hospitable, yet for more than 7,000 years, the Silk Road, which runs through much of it, was the means by which silk and other exotic goods were transported.
While visiting the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibition, “Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World,” approximately 200 ninth- and 10th-graders from the Bronxville Schools had the opportunity Feb. 1 to get a glimpse into the sights and sounds of this ancient route.
The exhibit takes visitors along the Silk Road, which began in Xi’an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, to Turfan, a bustling oasis at the edge of the desert, to Samarkand (in present-day Uzbekistan), the home of prosperous merchants, and on to Baghdad, a meeting place for scholars, scientists and philosophers.
The excursion was organized by instructors Dr. Lee DiTullio, Dana Landesman and Christina Reidel to highlight the importance of the Silk Road and to incorporate the various activities students have been doing in all disciplines these past few months.
Life-size camels laden with worn canvas sacs greet visitors entering the exhibit. It wasn’t difficult for the students to imagine the animals and their owners stretching out across the harsh Taklamakan Desert of Central Asia, often traveling part of the journey at night to avoid the scorching heat. The Silk Road passes through regions whose temperatures range from minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit to more than 120.
As the students moved ahead, they came across bowls of mulberry leaves on which scores of white worms were gnawing. An exhibit on silk production drew their attention, and they learned that about 5,000 years ago, the Chinese Empress Hsi Ling Shi, while drinking tea in her garden, discovered a small cocoon in her teacup. As she fished it out, the cocoon unwound into a single shimmering silk strand. Gathering more cocoons, the Empress decided to plunge them into hot water, unravel the strands and begin to weave the world’s first silk cloth.
Later, students came across what looked like an outdoor market with barrels filled with the scent of rose petals, jasmine oil and the patchouli plant. Dazzling gemstones, fresh fruits and aromatic spices, luxurious furs, and an assortment of fabrics were commonly sold at such markets, they learned. Further on, they gathered around an interactive map to get a bird’s eye view of the Silk Road.
Throughout the exhibit, students were required to complete a travel journal of their experiences, collecting various stamps along the way and answering a variety of questions on different areas of the curriculum. Naming three famous Arab mathematicians and briefly describing their achievements was one, as was describing the contributions of Arab mathematicians to the development of the field, and calculating how many possible routes travelers could take along the Silk Road.
Other fascinating aspects of the exhibit included its focus on the evolution of various scientific instruments, such as the water clock, and the transportation of paper, which opened up a “remarkable age of writing, reading and learning,” noted the exhibition. Its mention of the Baghdad scholars whose studies of math and astronomy “helped form the foundation for science in the West” was also an important lesson for the Bronxville students.
Tenth-graders Catherine Bianco, Christina Dave, Ally Malamut, and Caroline Willis all enjoyed visiting the exhibit. “It was also very useful and informative for us because it basically enabled us to recap a lot of what we learned in the ninth grade,” said one of them.
Teachers from several other departments accompanied the group, including biology teacher Amy Bastone, art teacher Joanne Dalsimer, Spanish instructor Patrick Miele, and others. The trip also ties into the district’s efforts to infuse global education throughout all three schools. Students will be required to create individual projects based on what they learned during the trip. It will culminate in a “Silk Road Symposium” scheduled for later in the spring.
Also on Feb. 1, juniors and seniors back at the high school participated in a special initiative on the world’s water problems. Activities included watching the movie “Blue Gold: World Water Wars,” and listening to a presentation from Heidi Paul, corporate vice president of the Nestle Water Company. The students later divided into smaller groups to hear Tobias Siegfried of the Columbia University Water Center; Peter Crowther of IBM, who talked about the “Great Rivers Project;” Amy Hurley, head of the Westchester County Recycling Program; a representative from Green Waste Solutions; and a farmer who grows “green crops” and sells produce at the Bronxville Farmers Market.
This was the fourth consecutive year of Bronxville High School’s “Education & Awareness Day” series, which is planned each year by both the students and their teachers. Previous years have focused on global warming, human rights and world hunger.
