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Mini Forbidden City at ROM

8/22/2014

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Do you want to see a chicken cup that worth 36 million dollars? Come to ROM and take a closer look at the expensive porcelain cup that has a chicken on it and as well as some other artifacts that came from the original Forbidden City.

“The Forbidden City is the imperial palace in Beijing, China. For a long time, it was forbidden to everyone. So it is one of the most mysterious places in the world,” said Courtney Murfin, the interpretative planner for the exhibition. Murfin comes up the story line of the exhibition and translates the curators’ and researchers’ complicated language to something easily understandable.

The exhibition started March 8 and will end on September 1st, 2014. So this might be your last chance to experience the fascinating history of the Forbidden City at ROM.

Luckily, on August 20th, the Voice K summer camp had the chance to look around and experience how it feels to be in the Forbidden City.

“The original Forbidden City in China is really big, so it was hard for us to recreate how big it is in our small exhibit hall,” said Murfin.

Most of the items are shipped from the actual Forbidden City in Beijing, China, but some artifacts are owned by ROM.

As we entered the exhibition, we saw a big screen to our left and the entrance to more artifacts to our right. The first thing that caught our eyes was the palace room display, which includes the Imperial Throne set. It was made with wood and jade. The throne was a symbol of the ruler’s imperials power. The area where we first entered was the outer court. The colours were mostly yellow and red. The last artifacts in the outer court are the ceremonial bells.  Then we entered the inner court where the colours were mostly blue and our surroundings felt homey. The inner court was for the imperial family and their eunuchs to live in.

At the end of the journey, we hit gold – the gift shop! We discovered so many awesome toys and utensils related to Chinese history. There were stuff panda animals, Chinese flutes, porcelain chopsticks, Chinese ponytail hats, ancient Chinese books, and even a glow-in-the-dark Mahjong rubik’s cube. Some of us bought the flute and some of us bought the chopsticks set.

The journey might have been exhausting, but at the same time we gained a lot of knowledge. It was definitely worth the trip. 


Photo credit: ROM
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The chicken was made by Emperor Chenghua. He made it as a gift for his mother. We can’t believe that it is so rare and worth so much. It’s just a cup!
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We also saw a puzzle; it was designed for the kids in the palace to play. There was a fragment of image on each side of the puzzle. You need to rotate the blocks to complete an image. There are 35 blocks in a puzzle.  Not even the staff from ROM could do it easily.
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Our favourite part of the exhibition was actually the ceremonial armour, which was used by emperor for inspection of troops. The armour was made with cotton, silk, copper and as well as metal plates, which is great for showing but offers limited protection in return.  
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ROM is an educational place for everyone, even if you can’t see. There is an area in the exhibition for people to touch the replica of the artifacts and read in Braille. 


The instructions and maps are in both English and French. They are also raised for for people to touch. 



The ROM tries to keep their hallways wide and easily accessible for people in wheelchairs too. 

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Article is written by: 
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Sunni Zhou
Hello, I am 12 years old and go to Tomken Road Middle School. I really like singing, dancing, cooking, travelling, and everything related to art. A very special thing about me is that I am a journalist and I do lots of thinking, writing, exploring new places, meeting new people, and learning new things. If you love having fun, exploring, writing, and learning, come to Voice K! I wish I could say more wonderful things about myself and Voice K but I really need to go. BYE! 

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David Kang
Hello! I'm 12 years old. I will be going to grade 7 in the fall. I love playing chess and games that involves strategy. My dream is to become the CEO of the worlds' most influential corporation. I hope you enjoy this article. 

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Ryan Zhou
Hi, I am 9 years old. I am going to grade 4 in September. I like to play video games, travel and eat. When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.  

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Jasmine Ding
Hi, I am 7 and half and I am going to grade 2. I am the smallest in the camp, so it is very difficult for me. But my good friend and amazing teacher is so good to me. My favourite animal is cheetah. My favourite food is pizza! That's all for now. 

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China Now at Harbourfront Centre

7/19/2014

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By Voice K Summer Camp

Chinese culture arrived at Habourfront last weekend. The place was jam packed with Chinese art, craft, dance and outstanding food. 

“ It’s amazing to have 70 artists from China to perform at this festival”, said Rodrigo Fritz, Senior Artistic Associate and Project Coordinator at the Harbourfront Centre. The China Now event lasts three days starting with an opening showcase on Friday, July 11th, 2014. 



“The hardest part to organize was the opening showcase that involves 7 artist group. Coming up with the correct schedule and getting everybody together is the most challenging part," said Fritz. It took Habourfront over a year to organize the event. They started discussions with the Ministry of Culture in China and their major partner, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington about a year ago. Between different departments there were at least a hundred people involved.

“We are very fortunate to live in a multicultural society,” said Dr. Nelly Ng, the chair of Can 4 Culture, a not-for-profit organization that connects culture. "My goal is to by introducing this magnificent art, for people to understand one another better." 



China has a history of five thousand years. Some of the crafts, such as the clay figurine and kite making has a history of two thousand years. 


"Because we don't know much about China and its rich history, and we get fascinate about it, and we hope more people get to see it. I think through art, we are connected." said Dr. Ng. 


This is the first time Harbourfront Center hosting a festival solely focused on China.  be sure to check it out yourself!
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Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival

6/23/2014

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By Dea Yu  & Emma Zhang (Age 9)



On Sunday, June 22th, 2014, a group of Voice K journalists headed out to Central Island for the Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival.  The drive was pretty long. When my family finally arrived at our destination, I wanted to jump out the car!


When my family got to the ferry dock, we had to wait in a long line for the ferry. My family rode on the top layer of the ferry. When I got there, I was amazed by the buzz if excitement in the crowd. There were so many people with paddles so I knew they must be paddlers competing in the race. There were lots of vendors with food and games, and the thumping of the dancers’ feet on the stage was amazingly loud.


I explored the island until I saw the Voice K group. We got split up in two teams. I interviewed a paddler named Tim Hudson who was competing for the P&G team. 


 “My dad and I used to always go rowing when I was your age and we did the same in Boy scouts too.” Hudson said. He told me that the important part about racing is that everyone has to be in sync. “You have to make sure you listen to the man in the back and everyone on the boat has to know his instructions.” 


I also learned that in a race like this, you want start paddling very hard at the start, slow down in the middle, and then pick up at the end. 


In order to prepare for a dragon boat race, you need a lot of different training. One of the most important ones is to train how to row. You can pull your paddle to your sides and work on your strokes. You also need lots of warm-ups and muscle trainings because paddling requires a lot of back exercises, shoulder exercises, and cardio exercises. 


“How do you feel when you finished the race?” I asked. 


”Relieved,” Tim said. “Because you get really exhausted in the race and it’s good to finish. And I feel even better when I win.” 


Then I asked to see his hand and there were so many calluses on them!


Then I interviewed one of the organizers of the even ─ Kevin Lo. His favorite part of the race is seeing all the teamwork effort. Lo told me that this was his fourth year being an organizer. “I first heard about this festival when I was a kid,” Lo told me when I asked him about his first experience.


After playing for several hours, it was time to head back home. I still remember the day I saw dragons on the river, and excited to see next year’s race. 


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Hi everyone, my name is Dea Yu. I am nine years old. My name is not popular; I only knew one girl whose name sounds the same, but it is spelled differently. My Mom told me she found it on a website called babynames.com. It is a Greek Goddess name who was in charge of beauty. I go to Bronte College which is really close to Voice K. My favourite classes at school are Drama and Music. I love playing acting games with my Drama teacher. I live in Mississauga, Ontario. I like reading and all kinds of arts. I am a Ballet dancer; I had my fourth recital this year. I really enjoy putting on a new costume each year and dancing on the stage. That is it, so far.

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Hi! My name is Emma Zhang. I was born in the year 2005. I like art, skiing, drama, bears, dogs, Prince Edward Island traveling and Voice K! I love playing little tricks on my family. I am also a nerd and I love to be on my computer. I am a fan of nature because I like camping in the wild. When I grow up, I would love to be an actress. I was inspired by “Annie”, a live musical show. Sometimes, I may use big words like moonshine (nonsense), cataclysmic (mega jumbo), pondered (thinking), and more.  Well, that’s all you need to know about me!
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