Bird Mural Overview a Mural Will Be Made That Can Tell the Story Murals Tell Stories Through Art

Education l Interactive Activity

Environment Make a for the Americas Conserving Birds by Connecting People Bird Mural Overview A mural will be made that can tell the story Murals tell stories through art. People have painted murals of birds in the community. for centuries to tell stories and communicate about issues Objectives important to them. Murals can depict stories about history, Participants will design and paint a mural social issues, conservation, and more. A mural can tell a story Recommended Ages through a collection of images or one main image. > Children 7-17 The artist Rafael Lopez, whose beautiful artwork is the feature Activity Time for International Migratory Bird Day 2012, is also a muralist. > In Class:: Approximately 1.5 hours, or On his website you can view pictures of Mr. Lopez creating 2 sessions of 45 minutes. murals and community members helping. View the pictures at > At Festival: Set-up 30 minutes, visitors self-pace, could be an unmanned activity http://www.rafaellopez.com/#/murals. Materials Preparation for Making a Mural > Medium of choice for the mural 1. Choose your medium. Will the mural be painted on canvas, > Newsprint and masking tape wood, or roll of paper? (Sand & paint wood with a primer.) > Acrylic or Tempera paint, and brushes, > Blank paper 8x11 2. Consider where the mural will hang. Decide where and how > Pencils, colored pencils or crayons you will hang the mural. > Chart paper and markers Read through the entire activity. Decide how you will intro- > Optional: Storybooks or other props to talk 3. about murals. duce it & what props (books or mural pictures) you will use. Make it a Festival Activity 4. Gather your painting materials. You will need brushes, paint, > Print Black & White mural at Staples or and for drawing details--sharpies, markers, or pastels. Kinkos (cost $7.00). Mural available on bird- 5. Identify an area for a draft. On your classroom floor or wall, day website. measure out and mark with masking tape the same size area > Paints, brushes, that the mural will be. You can also cut newsprint to the > Buckets of water for rinsing brushes same size as your mural for the draft layout. Activity in Action 6. Prepare your medium. If you use paper, double layer it if Send your comments and pictures on this needed to make it stronger. Also, fold back and tape the activity to [email protected]. edges so they stand up and do not rollover.

Get Involved! Discover easy, fun ways to learn and Find free educational materials (and much more) at BirdDay.org connect with others while spreading bird conservation Have you registered your IMBD event? It’s quick, easy, free, and one way we measure IMBD suc- awareness—join the EFTA Flock at BirdDay.org cess. To register, go to birdday.org or send your event information to [email protected].

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org Bird Mural Education l Interactive Activity

Making a Mural Activity 1. What is a mural? Begin by asking participants the following: What is a mural? After some discussion you may want to show them some pictures (see examples of murals by IMBD artist Rafael Lopez in this activity). Ask what murals they have seen and where? Build on their answers to talk about how murals tell stories about things important to people. Draw from the examples the participants give you to talk about how murals they have seen depict issues and subjects of importance or interest in the community. You could also use the murals by Rafael Lopez to talk about what the murals depict. 2. Discussing their mural. Next you could read the book The School Mural by Sarah Vasquez that talks about a group of kids making a mural. Or, you can take the discussion right into talking about birds in the community by reading a book from the suggested book list with this activity. Follow the book, with a discussion about birds they see at home, school, and around the community To get the discussion flowing, share out loud examples of the personal connections in the book that made you think about birds in your community. For example, if you saw a picture of birds that are blue in the book you might mention bluebirds you have seen in the community, or if the book talks about migration you might mention that you’ve hung up your hummingbird feeders and are looking forward to the hum- mingbirds returning this spring. 3. Create a chart. Create a chart like the sample in this activity and record the answers from the discussion. Ask your participants what birds they see and where they live? What do they need to live? How do we help birds? Record their answers in the chart. Depending on the age group, ask how birds are important to people and to them? Record their answers. 4. Explaining the mural activity. Explain that they will make a mural telling a story about birds in their community. The next step is to work together to choose the story they will depict in the mural using the chart as a reference for ideas. Ideas include drawing a diversity of species, showing the places they live, showing what’s being done for birds, the role birds play in the community, or a mixture of some of these ideas. 5. Draft individual pictures. Based on what the group decides is their story, give each student drawing paper and colored pencils. Ask each student to think about what aspect of the story they would like to draw and make a drawing of their idea. You can model this by making a draft to show them before they start their own. 6. Sharing Drafts. Bring the group back together. Ask the participants to show and tell about their drawings and have them lay them on the floor next to each other or post on the wall. Stand back with the students when all the drawings are out and look at what they have. Do some of the drawings depict similar ideas? Group those together. Ask students that have made similar drawings to work cooperatively to make one drawing of their idea or choose one of the drawings already made. For example, if three kids drew American robins ask them to work together to make a new drawing or choose from one they’ve already made.

EFTA Conserving Birds by Connecting People Find free educational materials (and much more) at BirdDay.org Get Involved! Discover easy, fun ways to learn and connect with others while spreading bird conservation awareness—join the EFTA Flock at BirdDay.org

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org

Bird Mural Education l Interactive Activity

Making a Mural Activity 7. Creating a draft mural. Next have students layout their drawings in the prepared draft mural area that you made. Have them work cooperatively to lay out their drawings, gently guiding the participants to be respectful and thoughtful of each others ideas. 8. Consider the results. When drawings are laid out ask participants to step back and consider the layout. What do you they like? What would they change? Does the mural tell the story they want to tell Make any changes that the group agrees to. Now ask them to consider the background of the mural. Will it be one color? Will it be part of a larger scene the group chooses? 9. Sketch out the draft. If your participants are young, consider sketching out the mural yourself. If they are older and you have time, let the participants sketch out their drawing. 10. Get out the paints--have fun! See tips for painting with this activity. Older students (4th grade and up): Consider using a grid method to transfer their draft on the mural (see sample mural grid). Make a grid that can be put over your draft mural. The grid can be made on tracing paper, or you can use string (tape it down so it doesn’t move), or make chalk lines. Using the same number of blocks as your draft, draw blocks on your mural medium. Assign painters to each block; the grid will help the painters figure out how much of each drawing on the draft goes into the corresponding block on the final mural. Might be wise to write names with stickies on each block so painters don’t get mixed up. For more information, visit http://murals.com/scaling.html. 10. Ask students to go back to their chart and their mural story idea to write a short text to describe their mural. Type this up and post it with the mural. Show off the mural whenever and wherever you can! Make it a Festival Activity 1. Hang up a large double layered paper OR print the black & white mural available for free download at www.birdday.org. If you choose blank paper make it large but manageable for hanging and moving. The benefits of providing a black & white outline for visitors to fill-in are that it may be easier for folks to color in an outline rather than create their own drawing especially in an atmosphere where a lot of time is not spent at any one activity. People also understand what you are asking if they have some- thing to follow. 2. On a nearby stand post the directions. Sample Directions: Help us create a mural to celebrate birds today! Choose a paint brush and 1 color of paint at a time. Choose a small part of the mural to paint. Rinse your brush after each color. Leave your brush in the water can when you are done. THANK YOU! 3. Set out paint, brushes, and coffee cans with water. Let the painters paint! 4. Short on volunteers? Consider letting this exhibit be self-paced and ask a volunteer to check on it every 30 minutes or as needed to put out fresh water and check paint levels. Activity in Action Send your pictures and comments on this activity to [email protected].

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org Bird Mural Education l Interactive Activity

Sample Mural Grid

Making a Grid Make a simple or complex grid over your mural depending on the level of your participants.

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org Bird Mural Education l Interactive Activity

Mural Examples by Rafael Lopez Use these mural examples for your conversation with your group about murals or find your own. You can also use the IMBD mural above in the grid example.

Mural by Rafael Lopez

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org Bird Mural Education l Interactive Activity

Book List Here are some suggested books to help your group begin thinking about birds.

The School Mural by Sarah Vasquez (Ages 7-11) Urban Roots, Where Birds Nest in the City by Barbara Bash (Ages 6-10) About Birds, A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill (Ages 3-8) Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds by Tish Rabe (Ages 5-8) Feathers: Poems About Birds (Ages 7-12) One Small Square: Backyard by Donald Silver (Ages 7-12) Flute’s Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush (Ages 8-12) Birds by Kevin Henkes (Ages 4-6)

Sample Chart: Birds in Our Community (or School or Neighborhood)

What birds do we Where do birds live? What do birds need What can we do to How are birds impor- see? to live? help birds? tant to me and our community? American robins, Trees, bushes, cavi- water, food, space, Planting trees, Bring beauty and Bluejay, American ties, houses, grass, nesting places, putting up nest- song, help eat bugs, goldfinch, water, roosting places, ing houses, feeding spread seeds, eat birds, cleaning feed- mice and snakes, ers, learning about pollinate flowers, birds, not using part of the food chemicals on our web, fun to watch, yards, leaving their make me happy, nests alone,

Special thanks to artist and art teacher Lucy Mink (http://lucymink.com/) and Mrs. Emerson art teacher at Harold Martin and Maple Street Elementary Schools.

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org Bird Mural Education l Interactive Activity

Tips for Painting

Here are some suggestions for helping kids paint. 1. For your mural use whatever art materials in your school--crayons, tempera pain, pastels, etc. 2. Model painting smooth even strokes. Explain that if the paint is put on the mural too thick or in gobs it will peel later on. 3. Consider using markers and/or pastels to draw in small details if difficult with brushes and paint. 4. Think through how best to paint the mural like starting at the top and working down. Think about the best way to place kids to cut down on bumping each other or leaning against wet paint. 5. Appoint yourself, adult volunteer, or an experienced painter in the group to take care of the small details in the painting and take care of any obvious issues. 6. After the mural is thoroughly dry, protect it with a couple coats of clear varnish. A matte finish is best. This best done by you or an adult volunteer. 7. For more details, see Tony Osumi’s Mural Making Guide for K-12 Teachers at http://www.kuidaosumi.com/murals/muralguide.html

Special thanks to artist and art teacher Lucy Mink (http://lucymink.com/) and Mrs. Emerson art teacher at Harold Martin and Maple Street Elementary Schools.

Environment for the Americas • 2129 13th Street, Suite I • Boulder, Colorado 80302 • T: 866-334-3330 • E: [email protected] • BirdDay.org