Exploratorium Brings Playful Exploration in Science to Tibetan Monks in India
January 20-31, 2009
Inspired by the Dalai Lama, a team of his monks are now ambitiously
attempting to study not only in the traditions of Buddhism, but to also
share in Western scientific inquiry and evidence on the physical plane.
Enter the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The goal is to shape these
already highly educated monks into science leaders.
An Exploratorium team consisting of neuroscientist Luigi Anzivino,
and creative educators Mike Petrich and Karen Wilkinson, will be
traveling to Sarnath, the Buddhist monastery in India where, fittingly,
the Buddha gave his first lesson 2500 years ago. The Exploratorium
team will fill up their classroom in India with mylar, light sources and
simple mechanics. They will be using activities and curriculum based
on light, sound and motion to transform the participating monks into
hands-on science explorers. Once trained, the monks will eventually
head up science study groups using similar materials and methods in
their own monasteries. There are hundreds of monasteries scattered
throughout the Tibetan communities in India, and potentially thousands
of monks interested in studying science.
