The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (CMI), said to be world’s largest children’s museum, in partnership with National Geographic, is displaying a statue of Hindu Lord Ganesh in its current Sacred Journeys exhibition.
This Lord Ganesh statue was custom made for the Museum and shipped from India recently. Other areas of the “National Geographic Sacred Journeys” exhibition that focus on Hinduism, include Ganges River where they talk about Kumbh Mela, which includes a Ganga Jumna Lota pot and shows some contemporary items that people who go to the Kumbh Mela might purchase; Ganesh Chaturthi Festival; and Diwali Festival, which contains many Diwali hanging lanterns and diyas. Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, commended CMI for exhibiting Lord Ganesh statue and Hinduism focused displays. Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hinduism focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu heritage with the rest of the world. This 7,000-square-foot exhibition will continue till February 21 and is funded through a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. It also includes displays of Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Great Mosque in Mecca, Bodh Gaya in India, Tepeyac Hill and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Dome of the Rock mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Bodhi Tree, Caves in the bluffs along the Dead Sea; fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls, Jewish ritual objects, a piece of the Kiswah, throne built for the Dalai Lama, stone from the Western Wall, the trunk Brigham Young carried from New York to Utah, a replica of the Shroud of Turin, a sand mandala; etc. It “reflects this diversity of religious and spiritual pilgrimage through immersive environments created with photography from National Geographic”. The National Geographic Society claims to be “inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888” and reaches over 700 million people a month. Gary E. Knell is President. Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis and created in 1937, is a private philanthropic foundation. Founded in 1925, CMI, a 472,900 square-foot facility situated on 29 acres with Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen as President, is “committed to creating extraordinary family learning experiences”.
Source: WHN Media Network