Introduction
This education guide is designed for teachers, grades K-12, who are interested in incorporating a multicultural approach by integrating aspects of Tibetan culture and art into their social studies and language arts curriculum. This guide focuses on the main themes of the exhibition At Home Away from Home: Tibetan Culture in Exile, on display at the Museum of International Folk Art through February 1999. Covering a variety of Tibetan cultural experiences in exile, from the religious to the secular, this exhibition consists of a Kalachakra sand mandala (defined later), thangka paintings (religious scroll paintings on cotton), paintings created by Tibetan children living in India and photographs documenting Tibetans living in Santa Fe. Interactive rooms recreating a typical Tibetan living room and an outdoor area with a picnic tent and a female yak supplement the two-dimensional material.

Goals
Students will learn that . . .

1. Tibet is an autonomous region in Asia with a unique geography and a long and complex cultural history.

2. The practice of Tibetan Buddhism involves a variety of art forms and artistic traditions that communicate important cultural values and ideas.

3. Tibetans living in exile attempt to preserve their cultural traditions as well as adapt to their new life in the societies where they live.

Each section contains background information, and/or hands-on activities, curriculum connections and questions for discussion. Also included in the guide is a section on resources for both adults and children. The guide is designed to include a variety of perspectives or entry points for studying Tibetan culture. You may focus on the Tibetan diaspora: the effect that leaving Tibetan has had on individuals and their culture, and the way that Tibetans recreate their culture in a new land. You may wish to make comparisons to other immigrant cultures living away from their homeland. Another entry point is that of politics and world cultures; how leaders make decisions that affect people’s lives. Students may wish to interpret the paintings done by Tibetan youth whose vivid imagery link them to children everywhere and articulate clear identities with culture and place. The artwork of Buddhism, mandalas and thangkas, offers another topic of study, by identifying deities and practices central to the cultural identity of Tibetans. Exploring a variety of aspects of Tibetan culture gives us the opportunity to respect the identity of this new cultural group which has joined our increasingly diverse community.