As Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities across the country continue to grow, it is increasingly important that educators and their students engage in a curriculum that is reflective of a changing America. The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) and the Smithsonian Institution have set the ambitious goal of reaching every classroom in the country to support educators in their efforts to learn and teach AANHPI histories and experiences to their students. With this goal in mind, they engage with and draw upon the expertise of local educators and community organizations to co-create new educational resources focusing on local AANHPI histories for K-12 educators, students, and lifelong learners.
Throughout 2023 and 2024, APAC worked alongside the YURI Education Project to connect and convene (in person and virtually) a cohort of K-12 classroom educators and AANHPI-led organizations from six localities: Orange County, California; Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Houston, and Austin, Texas; and Seattle, Washington.
Austin – Taniguchi Japanese Garden Poster Zine
Austin’s Co-Creators focused on Asian American Austinite Isamu Taniguchi’s life and the garden he built at the City of Austin’s Zilker Botanical Gardens. They co-created a one-page informational poster with an interactive zine project on the other side to help guide students on how they can connect their stories of home and family to local and national Asian American History. Educators and students can use the resource either as a historical informational poster highlighting one of the lesser-known community leaders in Austin history or use the other side of the poster’s interactive zine project to help guide students in reflective, critical thinking prompts that help form these connections. You can view the Zine and learn more via the button below!
