To mark the 2024 International Museum Day, themed "Museums for Education and Research", Prince Kung's Palace Museum has launched five public education activities. Each activity has been developed based on the museum's rich historical and cultural resources.
These events target a diverse audience, effectively breaking down geographical barriers. They also meet the demand for knowledge dissemination and exchange in the digital age, expanding the public's access to and participation in museum education and research.
On May 6, in collaboration with Beijing Student's Golden Sail Academy of Painting and Calligraphy, Prince Kung's Palace Museum invited 100 core art teachers from primary and secondary schools in Beijing and introduced museum education projects and pedagogical materials to them. The initiative aimed to guide the teachers to fully utilize the museum’s resources in their classes, developing curricula with the cultural characteristics of Prince Kung's Palace Museum that meet teaching needs and student interests, and incorporating them into daily education and club activities, making the museum a "second classroom" for students.
On May 13, the "Soaring Dragon and Full Blessings" activity was held in front of Yinan Hall at Prince Kung's Palace Museum. The event focused on the dragon motifs and the "fu" (blessing) elements found throughout the museum, creating an aesthetics curriculum and providing rich opportunities for art appreciation for adolescents.
Nearly 200 teachers and students from art clubs of various schools participated in the event and collectively created a themed piece of art, which was displayed in front of Yin'an Hall on the day of the event. Representative students from Beijing Chuiyangliu Central Primary School, Beijing Zhicheng Primary School and Minzu University of China attended the activity, confidently sharing their creation experiences and insights.
On May 15, the museum brought to Beijing Sanjiadian Railway Middle School the class titled “Research on the Deterioration of Decorative Paintings at Prince Kung’s Palace”. It consisted of an in-class course and a field survey. Students learned about basic types of ancient building decorative paintings, including their different structures, paint composition and common deterioration types and causes. Through surveys of the paintings in the Hall of Blessings in the museum garden, they gained a deeper understanding and learned about conservation methods. The class concluded with students sharing their findings and experiences to enhance their sense of responsibility and mission in protecting cultural heritage.
On May 17, Prince Kung's Palace Museum, via live stream, presented an extraordinary "Virtual Tour of Prince Kung's Palace" to 100 fourth- and fifth-grade students from Guiyang Normal School's affiliated experimental primary school in Guizhou. During the offline exploration session, students conducted research projects: Application of Carbon Fiber Materials to the Restoration of Ancient Buildings and Study on the Weathering and Protective Materials of Brick and Stone Relics – Yuguan Pass, learning about the impact of two reinforcement methods on the load-bearing capacity of wooden structures, recognizing types and causes of deterioration in brick and stone relics, and studying common surface protection materials for such relics. This helped them master the general process of research-based learning.
On International Museum Day (May 18), Prince Kung's Palace Museum invited 100 parent-child family members from local communities neighboring Shichahai Lake to participate in an event focused on the history and architecture of Prince Kung's Palace.
The first session featured an exploration tour of Prince Kung's Palace, guiding them to learn about the characteristics, construction details, and historical development of ancient buildings, and understand the architectural structure and features of the palace. The second session was set in the Grand Theatre, where teachers guided children to create their own three-dimensional art pieces themed "My Little Prince Kung’s Palace". These individual works were then combined to form a collective vision of the palace.
