Opening Program 

The Orient in Celebration | Inauguration Weekend

May 9 to June 8
SE Workshop |Floor -1
Exhibition: En route to the Orient – The Voyage
Exhibition of annual projects carried out by schools accepting the challenge set down by the Educational Service prior to the opening of the Museum of the Orient. This reveals the creative capacity of students and teachers in the display of works around a universal theme – The Voyage!

May 9, 10, 11
Workshops
Chinese Art of Paper Cutting
(In partnership with the Confucian Institute – Minho University)
10:00, 11:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Length: 1 hr.
New Delhi Room| Floor 4
In times gone by in Northern China, the leading traditional female manual art form was paper cutting. In the winter, when the land was under a blanket of snow, they would decorate their windows with paper cuttings to bring good health and luck in the new year. This workshop teaches the techniques to paper cutting.

May 10
The Colégio Guadalupe takes us all the way to Macau!
Portuguese Presence in Asia Collection | Macau Room | Floor 1
Within the context of the Voyage based thematic challenge set by the Museu do Oriente Educational Service to schools, students at Colégio Guadalupe, in Verdizela, decided to share with museum visitors a unique experience! They carried out a thorough study of aspects relating to Macau and convey all of this knowledge through a guided tour of the Macau Room, part of the Portuguese Presence in Asia exhibition.

May 9, 10, 11
My Heroic Face
10:00, 11:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Length: 1 hr.
SE Workshop| Floor -1
Warrior, god or wizard? Which would you choose? Behind a mask you can be whoever you want and embark on the conquest of new worlds, slaying dragons and crossing oceans! A workshop on the construction of plaster of Paris masks shaped to your own face and then painted in the style of the heroes and gods that inhabit this Museum.

May 9, 10, 11
Origami
(In partnership with the Confucian Institute – Minho University)
10:00, 11:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Length: 1 hr.
Tokyo Room | Floor 4

Origami (ori means "fold", and kami "paper") is the art of folding paper, highly popular in Japan and across Asia in general. In creating a shape through folding paper, we can perfect our symmetrical and multidimensional imaginative capacities, stimulating concentration and discipline. Learn to transform a simple sheet of paper into the most diverse artistic forms.

May 9, 10, 11
Loi Leong Kwok – Fortune Teller
12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 20:00
Meeting Point
Fortune teller, astrologist, witch or wise man of learning, among the many other expressions that may be attributed, is a characteristic and much sought after figure in the Largo do Leal Senado, in Macau. Come and take this opportunity to find out what your future holds in store in the words of a genuine Macanese fortune teller.

May 9, 10, 11
Tai Ji Quan, Chen Style
11:30, 15:30,17:00
Length: 1 hr.
Macau Room| Floor 4
With its origins in the martial arts, Tai Ji Quan is performed as a form of slow gymnastics to gain corporal balance and coordination resulting in a type of meditation in movement. The Chen style is the oldest of the five traditional styles of Tai Ji Quan.

May 9, 10, 11
Oolong Tea Ritual
(In partnership with the Confucian Institute – Minho University)
13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00
Beijing Room| Floor 4
In Chinese cultural traditions, the tea ritual extends all the way from its planting, harvesting and drying through to the actual preparation of the infusion and culminating in its serving. Enjoy a moment defined by beauty, harmony and social grace.

May 9, 10, 11
Japanese Tea Ritual
18:00, 21:00
Length: 1 hr.
Beijing Room, Floor 4
The tea ceremony requires many years of learning. Before mastering the entire technique, each detail has to be understood for its far broader meaning than the simple serving of tea. It is essential that all movements attain perfection, grace and delicacy. A singularly beautiful demonstration of the Japanese tea ritual.

May 9, 10, 11
Henna, Hand Painting
15:00-22:00
Meeting Point
In Hindu culture, henna is used in all major religious celebrations. In weddings, brides decorate their hands and feet in the most intricate of designs symbolising the strength of love in the marital match. Afterwards, the bride seeks to retain the painted designs for just as long as she can. Live the experience of adorning your hands Hindu style.

May 9, 10, 11
Chinese Name Translating
(In partnership with the Confucian Institute – Minho University)
11:00-22:00
Documentary Centre
State your name and see how a calligrapher interprets the sounds and, with brush and China ink, sketches its translation across a sheet of rice paper in Chinese calligraphy.

May 9, 10, 11
Consult your Chinese Zodiac Sign
(In partnership with the Confucian Institute – Minho University)
11:00-22:00
Goa Room| Floor 4
The Chinese horoscope is based on a twelve year cycle of the Zodiac with each year attributed its own animal as symbol. According to legend, Buddha wanted to put order in the world and thus convened the animals for a meeting and organised them as they came in through the door. Discover what the Chinese Zodiac has in store for you in 2008.

May 9, 10, 11
Ikebana
(In partnership with Ikebana International)
10:00-13:00
15:00-17:00
Díli Room| Floor 4
Ikebana (“living flowers” in Japanese) is the Japanese art of flower arranging. Japanese floral arrangements are based on three central concepts symbolising the heaven, earth and man. In this workshop, eight teachers from Ikebana International demonstrate the basics of this ancestral technique.

May 10, 11
Ekvât – Workshop for children
11:30-12:30
Goa Room| Floor 4
Members of the Ekvât Group show the steps to a curumbins dance and perform songs in Concani, a language of Goa. Children are encouraged to copy the steps, try out the costumes and make music with cheretas, coconut husk instruments.

General Guided Tours
A guided tour of the respective facets of the exhibition carried out by a member of the Education Service team of monitors.

May 9 - 11:00, 14:00, 16:00
May 10, 11 - 11:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 21:00

Specialist Guided Tours
May 9
17:00

Masks of Asia, with Sylvie Gonfond, collector and Kwok On Collection curator

18:00

The Gods of Asia, with Jacques Pimpaneau, collector and Kwok On Collection curator

19:00 and 21:30

Portuguese Presence in Asia, with Fernando António Baptista Pereira, museologist responsible for the Museu do Oriente exhibition.