Young girl is reading Dr. Seuss' "Hop on Pop"

Story Time - How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow

Activity 1: Curate YOUR Collection of Curiosities!

Historic crayons
Image from, Diane Korzenik Collection of Art Education Ephemera

We learned that The Huntington is a place of beauty and magic, but also a place filled with special treasures. Mr. and Mrs. Huntington collected many things in their lifetime that they saw as beautiful treasures, like our collection of historic crayons! Did you know that someone who arranges those special belongings in a museum is called a curator? What is something you treasure? What makes it special? Why did you choose to collect it? Now, it is time for you to put on your curator hat and get to work.

Materials: Your favorite collection, writing tool, paper, small box, container or tray to display your pieces.

Collection of toys

Step 1: Gathering your collection–Think about your collection and what pieces you want to display.

Step 2: Organizing your collection–How do you want to organize your collection? Does the biggest piece go first? Do certain objects need to be next to each other? Does the collection tell a story by looking at it? You choose.

Step 3: Labeling your collection–What are the stories you want to share about each piece? Do you want to give them silly names? Do you want to talk about how and why you chose to collect them?

Step 4: Displaying your collection–Now that you have decided how you want to organize your pieces and labeled them, it is time to display. Arrange your collections and include your labels. Draw, write or have a grown up help you take a picture of your curated collection!

Activity 2: Rainbows!

Materials to make a rainbow out of yarn

We saw that the sun and the clouds loved making rainbows together, but what is a rainbow anyway? A rainbow is described as an arc of multiple colors in the sky. This happens when there is water in the sky, like raindrops, and light shines through. When the sunlight hits the water, the light is bent, or, refracted and creates what we know to be a rainbow. Do you know the colors of a rainbow? Red, blue, orange, yellow, indigo and violet! There are multiple ways in which we can make or find rainbows at home. You can find a rainbow in a soap bubble when the light hits it. You can find a rainbow by holding up a garden hose to the sun. You can find objects or art materials and arrange a rainbow. Check out the activity below to learn how to make a rainbow out of yarn, paper, glue and markers. Have fun, explore and be creative in your rainbow journey.

Materials: Yarn, scissors, glue, paper, markers

Step 1: Gather your rainbow colors–Red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo and violet.

Step 2: Cut your yarn to desired rainbow arc length. Make sure to ask a grown up for help if you need it.

Step 3: Glue your yarn in order to create a rainbow, starting with red.

Step 4: Use your markers, or crayons to label the colors of your rainbow .