Traveling the Silk Road- Part II

As mentioned on Friday morning, I was able to sneak in a Blogger’s Preview of the American Museum of Natural History’s “Traveling the Silk Road” exhibit, an interactive journey from ancient trade routes to modern communications.

Although this was a closed preview, AMNH is hip to social media and word-of-mouth marketing, and welcomed photos and “live blogging” from the event, which, of course, I indulged in! I hope you were able to catch the few snippets I posted via Twitter and Tumblr, but I didn’t want to give too much away since this is one FUN exhibit. So, let’s stay away from the tech prowess for a minute and get into the travel goodness presented here.

“Traveling the Silk Road” aims to presents the pathways through the Middle East and Asia of long ago, when luxury items like animal skins, delicious foods, and handmade homeware style items were traded in major cities. You are presented with- and kids will love this, but Traveling Anna’s loved this even more- a paper passport, which you stamp in each of four cities along your journey: Baghdad, Samarkand, Turfan, and Xi’an.

Travelers indulge in the luxury items of each location, including glass blowing, paper making, and even the creation of silk by *live silk worms* and interact with each location by way of astrolabe (which I failed miserably at- never take me camping!), lift-and-sniff luxe spices, and an enormous smart map. This digital map plans out your path with tidbits of info on every stop. As a foodie, another favorite is the take-home recipe you can rip straight from the Turfan Market replica. Yum-o.

At the end of the exhibit, you’re encouraged to participate in a trivia flick with questions concerning communication and International relations today.And then, by way of laptops placed graciously at the exit, you’re encouraged to stamp your last passport, log online, and “share” your experience with your fellow travelers.

Besides the tech prowess of this family-friendly exhibit, I love the idea of “traveling” to a time and land that, quite simple, doesn’t exist anymore. But with the help of ties to the current time, we can see that we’re not exactly too far off and can actually relate to these ancient travelers. “Traveling the Silk Road” opened 11/14 at the American Museum of Natural History, located at 79th St. and Central Park West, New York City, and remains through August 15, 2010.