Research published in npj Science of Learning found that students who participated in at least two semester-length arts workshops achieved higher grades in language arts and math. These students were more likely to engage in cultural activities outside of the classroom, as well.
Here is just a small collection of free art resources for children and families available through the National Gallery of Art.
Pre-K to kindergarten
Inspire creativity in your pre-K and kindergarten-aged kids through hands-on art activities and children’s books suggestions. Download coloring pages of works in the National Gallery of Art’s collection for extra fun!
Disponible en español.
Ages 5 and up
Create your own work of art using brushes and palettes from artists in our collection. Try painting like Vincent van Gogh or Alma Thomas.
It is recommend using on a computer or tablet. If you’re using a tablet, be sure to rotate your device to landscape mode.
Grades 3-8
Artists are often particularly keen observers and precise recorders of the natural world. Travel with your students to different landscapes, from a park to a jungle, through works in our collection. Prompts and activities encourage students to consider the environments they live in and draw connections to issues of pollution and industrialization.
Grades 3-8
Designed to help students begin to answer the important question "Who Am I?," these lessons use self-portraits from the National Gallery's collection to inspire students to create their own self-portraits, poems, speeches, and letters.
Grades 6-12
Explore different forms of artmaking and find inspiration to build your artistic skills. This resource features videos with contemporary artists, easy-to-follow explainers for artistic techniques, and lessons for beginner experimentation. The lesson covers painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and printmaking.
Grades 6-12
Uncover what it means to be American through art at the National Gallery. Find stories of creativity, struggle, and resilience. This set of resources for K–12 educators features works that reflect the richness and diversity of the people, places, and cultures of the United States.
Encourage creative, critical, and historical thinking in your students as you examine works of art from the country’s creation to the present day. Fifteen thematic modules include “Expressing the Individual,” “People and the Environment,” and “Activism and Protest.”
All ages
Make your own creation inspired by works in our collection by artists from Henri Matisse to Alma Thomas. Craft paper flowers inspired by Berthe Morisot or tie-dye fabric inspired by Claude Monet.
