Dragons, Chinese New Year, origins of the zodiac and Chinese culture, tradition and folklore were all discovered by our Year 2 students during our visit to the Chinese Museum. This excursion was part of our inquiry into Celebrating Differences. Students had the opportunity to hear of traditional Chinese stories such as ‘The Emperor and the Nine Totems’ which tells the story of how the dragon came to be and its importance in Chinese culture, especially during Chinese New Year.

We also learned about the Chinese zodiac and how each animal came to be part of it. Students discovered that most of them were born in the Year of the sheep, making their personal characteristics as intuitive, expressive and compassionate!

The students were also lucky enough to meet artist Chris Chun who created the Lucky Rabbit exhibition, a series of artwork depicting the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

The visit culminated with the opportunity for students to write a special wish to be placed on the Wishing Tree.

The favorite part for most of the students was putting their creative skills to use and making paper dragons. They looked amazing!

Awatif Davies, Year 2 Teacher