Happy Art Day! Today, we’re looking at the art that exists in nature, and inspiring you to make some art of your own. Don’t forget, you can also download coloring pages of our alligator snapping turtle, Blanding’s turtle, spotted turtle, and eastern box turtle for more artistic fun. Let’s get started!
P.S. Remind your young scientist that they don’t need to be a “good artist” to draw. Explore how you can encourage your child, and learn other ways to engage with nature, from our educators here.
What is a scientific drawing?
A scientific drawing is a record of all of the great observations you’re making. Let’s practice our observation skills by doing some scientific drawing. Be sure to look closely to draw what you see. Click here to watch one of our educators, Anna, make her own scientific drawing!
Teaching Tip: Need an idea to get started? Try a nature window. Pick a spot to record some observations each day and see what changes over time and what stays the same. Or pick a plant nearby to observe and notice seasonal changes.
Let’s take a closer look at wings!
Did you know that butterfly and moth wings have symmetrical designs? That means the design on the right is the same at the design on the left. These designs and colors are the result of thousands of tiny scales on the wings themselves. Although these designs and colors are often striking and beautiful, they actually serve a purpose. For the African moon moth, it helps them hide! Click here to learn more.
Guiding Question: What do you notice about the moon moth’s wings? What do you notice about the color? The pattern? How do you think those things help the moth?
Let’s play Artist-Explorer!
How does not being able to see something change the way we interpret it? Can you communicate what something looks like just by using your words? Click here to download the rules for the Artist-Explorer Game and try it out with your young scientists!
Guiding Question: How did your drawing turn out? Did it look like the object or not? Why do you think that is? Is there something you could’ve done differently?
Make your own exhibit!
You may not be able to visit the Nature Museum right now, but you can make your own digital exhibit of your own works of art! Check out the ClassTools 3D Gallery Generator to upload your own pieces of artwork, add titles and descriptions, and name your own gallery! You can even save your own unique gallery and share it with others when you’re all done.
Explore our new flat show
Local artist Katherine Lampert was so inspired by a fossil in our collection that she created a series of works based on it! While you can’t explore it in-person right now, we have a digital exploration of the exhibit for you to watch here.
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