February/March 2004

Over the course of Kansas history, most immigrants have come here from European countries. Recently more and more immigrants are of Asian heritage.

For Parents and Teachers:

In this issue, students will learn reasons why Asians came to Kansas and the customs, with Asian origins, that have a presence in Kansas today. This topic addresses the Kansas curricular standards for fourth grade social studies that require students to compare reasons that brought settlers to Kansas and to understand the significance of holidays and events important in Kansas' history.

In 1917 Sallie Casey Thayer offered her impressive art collection to the University of Kansas. This Kansas City native hoped by doing so it would encourage students to study the fine arts. Her collection became the Spencer Museum of Art, online at www.ku.edu/~sma/.

Asia is a land of many nations and cultures. Geographically, it is the largest of the seven continents.

The Hmong

The Hmong [pronounced Mong] began arriving in the United States as a result of the Vietnam War. They came as refugees from the mountains of southern China and Southeast Asia.

The first recorded settlement of Asians in America was in 1763. Prisoners from the Philippines aboard Spanish ships escaped in New Orleans.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Since 1990, this month is set aside to recognize the many contributions of people from Asia.

In the most recent census (in 2000), there were more than 46,000 Asian Americans living in Kansas. People moved from the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand to live in the "Wheat State."

Mal-Soon Sauerman-a Topeka civil engineer, teacher and mother-was born in 1969 in Seoul, Korea. Later Mal-Soon was adopted by an American couple.

Calendars are a way of organizing time. They are often based on astronomical events relating to the Sun and Moon. Today, there are more than 40 types of calendars used in the world.

Happy Leap Year!

The Gregorian calendar is made up of common years [365 days] and leap years [366 days]. In a leap year, February has 29 days instead of 28!

Lunar New Year is celebrated on the first day of the lunar year. But wait! It is NOT January 1! Asian countries still use the lunar calendar to celebrate special holidays.

Celebrating Tet, or Vietnamese New Year, is a special time for siblings Levita Yen Bui and Jon Duy Bui. They were born in Kansas to Vietnamese parents.

What two words beginning with "A" are important to the Kansas economy? You are right if you guessed AGRICULTURE and ASIA!

Taekwondo is a sport that came to the United States from Korea. The roots of Taekwondo date back thousands of years to other Asian martial arts.

Thanks to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, many cities in Kansas and the nation have "sisters" thousands of miles away! After World War II, the United States wanted to lessen the chance of future world conflicts.

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