Michigan children’s artwork on display at the Binzhou Experimental Kindergarten in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, China. Through the Michigan 4-H Art Exchange, “visual letters” are being exchanged between young artists in Michigan and Shandong Province to share and connect personal experiences and stories across cultures. (Photo by Vera Wiltse)

By Betsy Knox

In May 2005, a small Michigan 4-H delegation traveled to China to meet our 4-H Art Exchange partners in Binzhou City, Shandong province. While there, the group saw our Michigan children’s artwork in several schools, including the Binzhou Experimental Kindergarten where the photo was taken.

The purpose of the Art Exchange is to help Michigan kindergarteners to six-graders learn about China through Chinese children’s art; learn how to look at and talk about art; discover the many similarities between themselves and children their own ages in China; and to create “visual letters” (a painting or drawing) for Chinese children. Visual letters are like written letters in that they tell stories, share important ideas and feelings, and connect children on both sides of the globe.

Shandong province, which overlooks the Korean Peninsula, is on the eastern coast of China. It has a history dating back 5,000 years, and it is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization.

To participate in the 2006 4-H Art Exchange with China, contact your county MSUE office. For more photos of the trip to China, visit the 2005 4-H Art Exchange Web site.