Mandala Lab in Your Classroom

Classroom teachers of students in 3rd to 12th grade are welcome to sign up for workshops led by experienced Rubin teaching artists. Each lesson intertwines art-making activities, guided discussion, engagement with objects from the Rubin’s collection, mindfulness techniques, and interdisciplinary and tactile learning to help students develop critical life skills to navigate the complexities of the modern world. 

Sign up for one or multiple lessons at a time for your classroom. Lessons are approximately 50 minutes each with flexibility depending on your period schedule.

Mandala Lab in Your Classroom is grounded in ideas from the Rubin Museum’s traveling Mandala Lab installation and incorporates Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning® principles.

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What is the Rubin Museum’s Mandala Lab installation?

The Mandala Lab is an interactive space created by the Rubin that is inspired by Buddhist teachings. It features five thought-provoking, playful experiences that guide people along an inner journey designed to inspire connection, empathy, and learning. In the Mandala Lab, visitors are encouraged to explore difficult emotions, including pride, attachment, envy, anger, and ignorance, and imagine how they might have the power to transform them. 

What is Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning®?

Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning® was developed by Emory University in collaboration with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It provides a universal and science-based approach to bring the ethical development of the whole child into education.

How are art objects incorporated into Mandala Lab in Your Classroom lessons?

In-classroom lessons incorporate objects from the Rubin’s touch collection of 140 objects that can be observed, handled, and sketched. Allowing students to interact with art objects up close aims to encourage engagement and curiosity, promote deeper understanding of the lessons, and inspire creativity.

Are the Mandala Lab in Your Classroom lessons available online?

The lessons taught in the Mandala Lab in Your Classroom program are available to download online for free to teachers anywhere in the world. Teachers can use these lessons to activate the teachings of the Mandala Lab in their own classrooms.