Learn how to create woodblock prints through demonstrations and an activity where participants will design and create their own simple prints using a variety of materials. Also, discover what it takes to develop a mural by lending a hand to paint our very own portable community mural.

In 1993, Velina Hasu Houston published the play Tea about five Japanese "war brides" who find themselves living in rural Kansas alongside their American GI husbands after World War II. Tea went on to become one of the most produced Asian American plays, shedding light on "the immigrant spirit that is the spine of America." As part of Women's History Month, Houston will revisit some of its groundbreaking themes and discuss her latest work involving Japanese international brides of World War II. Reservations recommended.

In the final session of this workshop, Associate Curator Lisa Itagaki discusses how objects in the home -- photos, film, heirlooms -- can help to tell a personal story as well as methods of preserving and caring for these objects. For more information, please refer to the January 22nd calendar listing.

In this second of a five-part seminar features Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, Acting Dean, College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Los Angeles, and author of Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress, in conversation with noted scholars, activists, and artists as they respond to propaganda artifacts displayed in the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community. This session will examine the World War II period with actor George Takei. Mr. Takei was incarcerated in the Jerome and Tule Lake Concentration Camps. In his autobiography, To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, he writes how this odyssey propelled him to become and actor, writer, businessman and politically active individual.

Please note: Actor Pat Morita was originally scheduled to be part of this discussion. Unfortunately he sends his regrets as he's been called to service - he will be the emcee for a major welcome home of troops from Iraq in Honolulu.

Join us for tea and dessert and meet some of the dolls in the National Museum's collection. Bring your own doll or action figure for a morning of storytelling.

Sparked by an editor's comment that "creating a good column is like writing a letter to a friend," farmer and award-winning author David Mas Masumoto's column for the Fresno Bee is written in the form of letters. From the unique perspective of a farmer on a working farm, he talks about the deep concerns we all share dealing with change and trying to protect and preserve a way of life. Masumoto's farming and his community serve as a backdrop to the "letters" he writes, offering the concerns of a parent, the memories of a son, the advice of a friend. Mas Masumoto is also the author of Harvest Son, Epitaph for a Peach, and Four Seasons in Five Senses.

Why buy a generic greeting card when you can create your own unique version? Welcome the change of season by designing cards with images of seasonal flowers. Class fees are $5 for National Museum members and $11 for non-members, includes museum admission and supplies. Reservations recommended.

Celebrate April Fools' Eve with our second annual showcase of Asian American comedians. Eight emerging comedians will have you laughing 'til it hurts. Special guest emcee: funnyman Rodney Kageyama.