Museum Home Past Exhibitions Maria Sibylla Merian and Daughters: Women of Art and Science
Maria Sibylla Merian and Daughters: Women of Art and Science

June 10–August 31, 2008 at the Getty Center

ExhibitionEventsPublicationsYour ReactionFun with Bugs

Fun with Bugs

Culture Crawl L.A.

The bugs have flown! In this creepy-crawly summer adventure, families from around L.A. snared free bug kits and stalked free souvenir bugs as they enjoyed insect-themed activities at cultural institutions across L.A.—the Getty Center, the L.A. Zoo, the Natural History Museum, the California Science Center, and Kidspace Children's Museum.

 Culture Crawl L.A.

Coloring Pages

Test your powers of observation and train your scientist's eye as you learn to draw the way Maria Sibylla Merian did. Print out these free coloring pages, then color them in using the images provided below. You can also pick up coloring pages for free in the exhibition, where you can work from Merian's original art.

Dwarf Caiman with False Coral Snake
Dwarf Caiman with False Coral Snake / Merian

Merian drew this reptile attacking a snake to protect her eggs. Can you find the infant reptile hatching from its egg?

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Coloring Sheet with Dwarf Caiman and False Coral Snake

Create your own battle of the reptiles with this coloring page.

Download this page (PDF, 570 KB)

Banana with Automeris liberia Moth
Banana with Automeris liberia Moth / Merian

Bananas were rare in 17th-century Europe. Merian sketched this banana plant and dainty moth while she was visiting a sugar plantation.

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Coloring sheet with Banana with Automeris liberia Moth

Go bananas with this coloring page.

Download this page (PDF, 508 KB)

Branch of a Guava Tree with Leaf-cutter Ants, Army Ants, Pink-toed Tarantulas, Huntsman Spiders, and a Ruby-topaz Hummingbird
Branch of a Guava Tree with Ants, Tarantulas, Spiders, and a Hummingbird / Merian

A fierce tarantula has captured a hummingbird in this scene of insect mayhem that Merian observed in the jungle in Suriname.

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 Coloring sheet with Tarantula, Ant, Spiders, and Hummingbird

Come eye to eye with a predatory tarantula with this coloring page.

Download this page (PDF, 490 KB)

Gumbo-limbo Tree with White Witch Moth and Cocoon and Caterpillar of Hawkmoth
White Witch Moth and Hawkmoth / Merian

Merian saw giant butterflies and moths like these in South America. Can you find the cocoon? (Hint: it looks like an egg.)

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Coloring sheet with White Witch Moth and Hawkmoth

Color your own giant moth and caterpillar with this coloring page.

Download this page (PDF, 591 KB)