gardens: a smithsonian coloring book

Engage with a natural world of wonder and its diverse symphony of life -- ready for you to color! The Smithsonian Institution presents an awe-inspiring new coloring book that explores the Smithsonian Gardens, a museum without walls.

With this meticulously illustrated coloring book, tour more than 180 acres and 15 public exhibition gardens that make up this living museum.

Guided by experts from the Smithsonian and brought to life by Rachel Curtis (Dinosaurs: A Smithsonian Coloring Book), these rich pen and ink illustrations invite you to step into captivating scenes inspired by landscapes and exhibits that extend the Smithsonian’s museums, engage people with plants and gardens, inform on the roles both play in our cultural and natural worlds, and inspire appreciation and stewardship. Featuring native plants, orchids, roses, heirloom vegetables, poinsettias, bees, butterflies, and many more, fans of coloring books and urban sanctuaries will find an enchanting living classroom to explore with their own creativity.

Each page of Gardens: A Smithsonian Coloring Book not only stands alone as a work of art, but is also accompanied by brief and fascinating insights from museum experts, ensuring that time spent coloring is also time spent learning.

This book’s deluxe ivory paper allows for a variety of artistic media like pen, pencil, or even watercolor, to ensure your creative vision comes to life just the way you want--and lasts for years to come.

Established in 1846, The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, dedicated to public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, sciences and history. It includes 19 museums and galleries and the National Zoological Park. The total number of artifacts, works of art and specimens in the Smithsonian’s collection is estimated at 156 million.

Rachel Curtis grew up drawing and painting from a young age leading to a lifetime of having far, far too many art supplies. She uses these to make pictures of a great variety of things, from very small to very big. She grew up in Alberta, just a couple hours drive from Dinosaur Provincial Park. You can find her online at www.instagram.com/catinspats/ (or the same on twitter) where she does occasionally draw cats in spats.