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Over 100 Museums, Libraries and Galleries Are Offering Free, Printable Coloring Sheets

Now that everyone is practicing social distancing, people are looking for safe and responsible ways to keep themselves occupied in their downtime.

Lots of people are turning to games, puzzles, and even new hobbies like knitting, painting, or learning a musical instrument to pass the time and give their mind a break from work. To help people relax and enjoy some culture, dozens of museums, galleries, and libraries are allowing people to download coloring pages inspired by the museums’ art collections, Hype Beast reported.

Over 100 museums and galleries have decided to invite people to enjoy some unique coloring pages as a unique way to enjoy artworks around the world while also staying home to help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). These pages are not only great for children who are stuck at home, but also for adults. According to the Cleveland Clinic, adult coloring is a good, low-stakes activity that can help you relax your brain.

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But this trend isn’t totally a product of social distancing. According to Hype Beast, the New York Academy of Medicine has been asking museums, libraries, and galleries to offer printable coloring pages for its initiative, Color Our Collections, since 2016. However, since more and more people around the world are going into self-quarantine, even more organizations and institutions have joined this initiative.

Courtesy Seton Hall University

Courtesy The Getty

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Institutions are using the hashtag #ColorOurCollections on social media to advertise their downloadable coloring pages (in PDF form). Some notable organizations to do this in 2020 include The Getty, the Smithsonian, the Denver Botanical Garden, the Toronto Public Library, the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, the National Library of France, and many universities like the University of Minnesota, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, the University of British Columbia Library, the University Of Melbourne, the Seton Hall Library, and Cambridge University Library. Overall, there are 509 collections that have participated over the years, and over 100 in 2020 alone. A full list can be found on the Color Our Collections website.

Courtesy Denver Botanic Gardens

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In order to download coloring pages, take a look at the dozens of special PDF coloring books that have been curated on the Color Our Collections website.

You can also find museums posting about their coloring page collections on social media by following the hashtag, #ColorOurCollections.