Asian/Pacific American Heritage

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to honor the heritage of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. Celebrate it by:

• Making fortune cookies!
1.  
   • Reading books inspired by Asian and Pacific Islander cultures. 
2.  
   • Illustrating The Last Panda, a story about a mama panda bear and her newborn cub.
3.  
   • Listening to music from India, Vietnam, Japan, or Fiji.

• Writing a haiku, a form of Japanese poetry, based on this 18th century woodblock of kabuki actors.

But first, test your Asian/Pacific pop culture knowledge in the trivia quiz below.

Asian/Pacific Heritage Trivia

1.  The movie Mulan is based on The Ballad of Mulan, an ancient poem from which country?

a) Korea                                                      c) China 
b) Japan                                                      d) Mongolia

2.  Former American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malaker's father is from ______.

a) Nepal                                                      c) India 
b) Pakistan                                                 d) Bangladesh

3. Golf legend Tiger Wood's mother is from ______.

a) Thailand                                                  c) South Korea 
b) Hong Kong                                              d) Phillipines

4.  Keanu Reeves is named after his great-uncle; his name means ____ in Hawaiian.

a) calm wave of the sea                              c) sweet flower in blossom
b) morning dew on grass                            d) cool breeze over the mountains

5.  In the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, what type of martial art is used to portray waterbending?

a) karate                                                     c) aikido
b) tai chi                                                      d) kung fu

6. Actress Brenda Song, who plays London on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, earned her black belt in tae kwon do at the age of ____.

a) 12                                                            c) 13
b) 14                                                            d) 15

7. Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi, who believed in peaceful protests, inspired this American civil rights leader.

a) Susan B. Anthony                                    c) Martin Luther King, Jr.
b) Fred Korematsu                                       d) Cesar Chavez

8. _____ is a popular television cartoon that began as a manga (Japanese comic book) in 1996.

a) Yu-Gi-Oh!                                                 c) Pokemon
b) The Powerpuff Girls                                 d) Dragon Ball Z

How did you do?  View the answer key.