Past Exhibit - "Kids Paint the World of Plants"
As the Conservatory renovation project got under way, visitors to the Botanic Garden found much more than a typical construction fence at the job site. The United States Botanic Garden partnered with children from the D.C. metropolitan area to create "Kids Paint the World of Plants," an outdoor exhibit of thirty-six murals displayed on the fence surrounding the Conservatory.
In all, nearly 450 children in twenty-two different groups from elementary, middle, and high schools; youth programs; day-care centers; special education facilities; and multicultural centers participated in the project. We asked them to interpret the importance of plants to people and to our earth's ecosystems by painting murals. The Botanic Garden provided the acrylic paints and the plywood and offered an educational program about plants to participating groups. The children and their leaders provided the imagination and artistry. Their accomplishments were recognized at a ceremony and program on April 1, 1998, which featured remarks by Architect of the Capitol Alan M. Hantman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
The murals depicted the children's views of the economic, therapeutic, aesthetic, cultural, and ecological importance of plants. Installation of the murals was completed in January 1998.
In addition to viewing this mural exhibit and the later "Kids View the World of Plants" exhibit, visitors were able to observe much of the work on the Conservatory through an innovative construction fence that is decorative as well as protective. Viewing points were provided in cutouts between the branches of tree designs painted on the fence.
