Aurora Over the Silk Road

“Aurora Over the Silk Road” is an interactive workshop created and produced by teen siblings Yasmine and Anthony as the culmination of a homeschooling project. The brother-sister duo founded Yasmanth Inc. to take their presentation on tour around the country. This program is included with paid admission to the Children’s Museum and is free for museum members.

“Aurora Over the Silk Road” will take museum visitors on a journey that explores the cultural diversity of the Silk Road via captivating crafts, performances and sensory experiences. There will be a puppet show, dances from four different ethnic groups and a musical presentation showcasing the Dumbek, a Middle Eastern Drum. At hands-on workstations, children can pet live silkworms, learn expressive dances from Xinjiang, and try their hands at drumming.

Claudine Humber-Curry, Education Coordinator at the Explorations V Children’s Museum, experienced the Silk Road event first hand and said, “Yasmanth’s presentation of ‘Aurora Over the Silk Road’ was absolutely extraordinary. Parents and children were actively engaged in seven hands-on cultural stations. In just two hours, this spectacular experience broadened the world view of the entire family. Even if these families never travel to that distant land, they were empowered to share their humanity through connecting with another culture, language, history, geography, clothing, livestock art, music, instruments and dance … I am amazed that Yasmanth effectively accomplished all of these objectives in such a brief time.”

Siblings and founders Anthony and Yasmine established Yasmanth in 2007. Yasmine, age 12, has been sharing the folkloric dance of the cultures of the Silk Road for five years under the mentoring of Pasha Umer who resides in Hong Kong. When asked how she felt about performing these dances, Yasmine commented, “Even though I originally fell in love with the beauty of these dances, as I continued doing them, I felt a deeper connection. Five years later, I am no longer doing the dances of the Silk Road only for their beauty, but because they mean something to me – it’s a way to connect to my maternal ancestry.”

Anthony, age 15, plays the Dumek, a Middle Eastern drum. Together, Anthony and Yasmine have brought these dances and music to audiences in children’s museums, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Walt Disney World, as well as internationally in Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala. “I’ve learned so much about the history and culture of the Silk Road since we started this project, and believe it is important to share with other children like myself,” observed Anthony. “If each of them can learn just one thing that they can take away and pass on others, we’ve accomplished our goal.”