Engaging Students with Story and Theater

Join us at the Field Museum on Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 10am-2pm for a professional learning opportunity designed to engage educators in deep content learning with the Museum’s collections, with particular emphasis on the Cyrus Tang Hall of China.

This program will help educators incorporate drama in the classroom in order to engage students in the study of culture and religious traditions.

Participants will:

• Understand: How to use theater and storytelling to teach young audiences about culture and religious traditions.
• Do: Participate in drama and improvisation activities (and shadow puppetry!) to explore the major themes and Buddhist values present in the stories of Guanyin and the Journey to the West.
• Feel: Prepared to integrate drama and storytelling to teach cultural content.

Registration is open to formal and informal educators of all levels, though activities for this session are most applicable for teachers of Grades 3-8.

Illinois Educators will earn 4 hours of Professional Development for attending this workshop.

Registration will remain open until Monday, November 3, 2025, or until full.

The first 15 who register will receive a copy of Pop! Lit for Kids’ Journey to the West: Chaos In Heaven (Book 1).