Painting and art started long before the Mona Lisa! Today, let’s have some fun with Nature’s Paint Brush!

What You Need:

• Twigs or sticks

• paint (any colors)

• canvas or paper

• collected leaves or flowers

• string or rubber bands

• scissors (if you need to cut string)

How To Make:

1. Go on a nature walk around your home! Look for sticks or twigs on the ground. Gather as many as you need to make multiple paintbrushes.

2. On your walk, look for "pieces of nature" (flowers, leaves, pine needles, grass, etc.) Gather any you want to paint with!

3. Return to your painting space. Snap sticks to about pencil-size. (Roughly 4-6 inches long)

4. Take one (or multiple, you decide!) flower or leaf and affix it to the stick. Cut string or use rubber band to secure your "piece of nature" to the stick. You now have a nature paintbrush!

5. Paint your nature masterpiece! In honor of Earth Day, paint something from the natural world around you. Maybe your favorite animal, or tree, or one of the flowers you gathered from earlier. Have fun and be creative with your painting!

6. Show off your masterpiece! Tag @museumofnativeamericanhistory on Instagram or find us on Facebook so we can share your creation!

Consider This:

Ask yourself these questions:

• How did my backyard or neighborhood look before my home was built here? Were people living where I lived?

  • TRY THIS: Check out this virtual Native Lands map! Type in your address or ZIP code and see who lived in your area before you!

• What paintbrush worked the best to draw straight lines? What worked best for squiggly lines? Did any of my paintbrushes make an interesting pattern?

• How did Native Americans paint? Would they have used paint like we buy at the store, or would they have used other natural materials? How did they get different colors?

  • TRY THIS: Another fun activity that you can do with Nature’s Paint Brush is creating your own Mud Paint!