Chinese New Year 2010


This week's show is expected to raise your IQ level on all things Chinese. We'll talk about some of the most honored customs and traditions the people of China have carried to the present day. We'll also hit on some of their popular dishes and what they signify. And we'll make reference to China's historical sites and places of interest. There are special packages and promotions for 2010 too. You'll hear about these and more from our featured guests. They include Ms. Agnes Hsu, Director of the Confucius Institute/ China Institute, New York, the director of the World Monuments Fund, and a surprise new award winning Chinese chef to start with.







Guests

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Dr. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu, Director of Education
China Institute


Dr. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu, Director of Education and Dean of the Confucius Institute at China Institute, is Program Director of the Summer Institute. Dr. Hsu is an International Expert to UNESCO World Heritage Centre and has served on two serial-nomination committees, the Quapag Ñan (the Main Andean Road) and the Silk Roads, for which she authored "The Exceptional Universal Value of the Road Systems in Ancient Empires: A Comparative Study of the Chinese Oasis Route of the Early Silk Road and the Qhapag Ñan." Dr. Hsu taught Chinese archaeology at Brown University and was a Mellon Foundation research scholar at Stanford University and the Needham Research Institute at Cambridge University, UK. Dr. Hsu is a scholar of Han archaeology, with training in Classical archaeology. She has published on ancient Chinese cartography and comparative issues of early empires, respectively in "An Emic Perspective of the Mapmaker's Art in Western Han China" (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3, 17, 4, 2007) and "Structured Perceptions of Real and Imagined Landscapes in Early Imperial China" in Geography, Ethnography, and Perceptions of the World from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Dr. Hsu received her graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.








Liz DeGaetano, Associate Director of Expeditions
American Museum of Natural History


Elizabeth DeGaetano is the Associate Director of AMNH Expeditions, the educational travel program of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Her passion for travel and her interest in science has kept her at the Museum for over 20 years. After receiving her undergraduate degree in biology, she briefly worked in the health care field before landing her first travel job organizing trips to Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia. During the course of her career at the Museum, she has led groups to all seven continents.

"My job at the Museum continues to be a great adventure. Travel is an enriching and transformative experience and I have learned so much from study leaders as well as from my fellow travelers and local people I have met 'along the way'."

The American Museum of Natural History has been exploring the world and conducting research expeditions to all seven continents for more than a century, since 1888. Following this tradition, the AMNH has been sponsoring educational travel expeditions for the public since 1953, making it one of the oldest travel programs offered by a non-profit organization in the U.S. The Museum's educational expeditions have visited the world's greatest wildlife and archeological sites, accompanied by Museum curators, leading educators, scientists, and local experts.

In 2007, AMNH Expeditions entered into a formal partnership with UNESCO World Heritage Centre to design a series of activities aimed at promoting and maintaining the value of World Heritage sites.

In 2010 AMNH Expeditions will offer programs specially designed for families, UNESCO-themed trips, and unique itineraries developed by Museum scientists.

Participation in AMNH Expeditions helps to support the Museum's mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.