Exploring Botanical Art in the Museum with Titian Peale

Summer Storytime

Does the child in your life love nature? Then this could be the perfect program for your little explorer.

Artist Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) interests expanded far beyond the canvas and out into the natural world. Peale, who grew up in Annapolis, inspired a love of science in his youngest son, Titian (1799-1885), when he created one of America’s first natural history museums in Philadelphia. Titian pursued his father’s passion by becoming a noted naturalist and botanical artist.

In this hands-on program participants will visit one room in the mansion and pick out the plants and animals in I Spy fashion. Then they will go out to the garden to find examples of seeds and flowers. Finally, they will pick sage leaves from the herb garden and create a botanical sponge-painted leaf and a drawing of a butterfly to take home. Children will then have story time in the garden listening to Help for Mr. Peale by Barbara Morrow. The story is about artist Charles Willson Peale establishing one of the first natural history museums in Philadelphia in the 1790’s.

Donations are appreciated.