There are three exhibits about Japanese culture in the Asian Exhibit Initiative.
Learn about all three!

• Five Friends From Japan: Children in Japan Today

• Jump to Japan: Discovering Culture Through Popular Art

• Japan and Nature: Spirit of the Seasons

Five Friends from Japan: Children in Japan Today was produced by The Children's Museum, Boston and National Children's Museum. The exhibit concentrates on the school and home life of Japanese children, highlighting similarities and differences between kids in the U.S. and in other countries.

What you can see and do at Five Friends from Japan: Children in Japan Today? Where is the exhibit now?

Step inside a Japanese classroom and "meet" five contemporary Japanese children.	Listen to many kinds of Japanese music in Shoko’s living room.	Role-play with Japanese food in Aisa’s Kitchen and Tofu Shop.
Dress up in traditional Japanese attire in Sakiko’s bedroom.	experiment with Japanese calligraphy Ken’s tatami room.	"Follow" your new friends home where you can practice aikido moves in Yusuke’s Yard.

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Jump to Japan: Discovering Culture Through Popular Art was produced by Minnesota Children's Museum and The Children's Museum, Seattle. The exhibit introduces visitors to Japanese culture through hands-on activities based on the art forms of animation, manga (comics), woodblock prints and traditional scrolls.

What you can see and do at Jump to Japan: Discovering Culture Through Popular Art? Where is the exhibit now?

Take a look at woodblock prints and traditional scrolls.	Create manga (comic book) drawings and animation.	Hop on the magical Cat Bus from the film My Neighbor Totoro.
Children and adults can be a shopkeeper or customer in a modern manga (comic book) store.	Take off your shoes and step into a traditional tatami (woven floor covered) room for a tea party.	Try on kimono, yukata or happi (traditional Japanese clothing).

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Japan and Nature: Spirit of the Seasons was produced by Brooklyn Children's Museum. Japan and Nature: Spirit of the Seasons invites children to explore Japan's geography and discover how people are shaped by where they live.

What you can see and do at Japan and Nature: Spirit of the Seasons? Where is the exhibit now?

Celebrate spring in Fukuoka, the largest city on the island of Kyushu.	Learn about Shinto teachings and respect for nature, select leaves and nuts to create a fall collage.	Dance and drumin the annual rice harvest festival
Explore a traditional winter table setting to look for signs of nature.Try the chopstick challenge.	Put on a fox mask to become part of a shrine story.	Explore the history and art of creating and flying Japanese kites. Make your own kite to take home and get inspiration from the Japanese kites on display in Collections Central.

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Where are Five Friends From Japan, Japan and Nature and Jump to Japan now?

Five Friends From Japan, Japan and Nature and Jump to Japan are three of seven traveling exhibits in the Freeman Foundation Asian Exhibit Initiative (AEI), , which is designed to promote a better understanding of Asian cultures. The Freeman Foundation Asian Exhibit Initiative is the largest grant awarded to ACM and the children's museums field.Learn more about AEI.

The Freeman Foundation believes that children's museums best convey cultural information to children by providing hands-on exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity and motivate learning. Children's museums represent a powerful and fun way to reach America's children and their families and teach them about the culture, history and traditions of Asia. With this initiative, we are building bridges of understanding that will last a lifetime.

— Houghton Freeman, Freeman Foundation Chairman

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