Coloring Books

Summer looms ahead of us like an expanse of Kansas prairie and for parents of younger children the wind often seems to whisper, "I'm bored, I'm bored..." as we work through our daily routines.

An old fashioned means of entertaining young minds can be found on the Internet with some new twists.  Online coloring books... pages of outlined designs, figures, characters... can be a source of fun and learning for both the young and young at heart.  Organizations, companies and even government agencies have pages ready to print off or work on interactively online.

Below are a few examples of such pages offered up by government agencies providing coloring designs that teach, inform and entertain.  So get out your color crayons, real and virtual, rev up your printer... and away we go!  Please note that some of these color book pages include links to other fun sites as well.

GENERAL COLORING PAGES
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/coloring/index.htm
(printable pages on health, outdoor excercise, animals, water, vegetables, environmental protections, etc.)

H.I.P. Pocket Change Coloring Pages
http://www.usmint.gov/kids/campcoin/coloring.cfm
(printable pages of coins provided by the U.S. Mint)

C.I.A. Interactive Coloring Book (fill style)
https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/games/coloring-book/index.html
(I know a librarian who enjoys this page a lot!  The pages provide a pallette with which you can color the drawings online)

NASA Coloring Book
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/coloring-book/en/
(Another interactive site where you pick up the virtual crayons with your mouse and fill in the lines yourself.  And for those of us who tend to wander outside the lines an eraser is provided!)

Fish Coloring Pages
http://www.fws.gov/natchitoches/images/coloring%20pages/fish_coloring_pages.pdf
(Printable pages for the more intense crayon or pencil fanatic.  Provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Kids Coloring Pages
http://education.usgs.gov/kids/coloring.html
(The U.S. Geological Service provides various outlined pages to print off featuring the nature scenes.  Includes pages and books for different levels of experise)

ATF for Kids
http://www.atf.gov/kids/games-activities/coloring-pages/
(Two pages; one of fireworks and one really cool one of the U.S. Great Seal.  Provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

Celebrating Wildflowers Coloring Books
http://www.nps.gov/plants/color/
(Links to pages offering wildflowers and other flora.  Some have a color guide for those who want an authentic look.  From the National Park Service)

Wind Turbine Coloring Book
http://www.nrel.gov/education/pdfs/educational_resources/elementary/wind_coloring_book.pdf
(Something many Kansans will recognize!  National Renewable Energy Laboratory website)

Coastal Louisiana Scenes
http://lacoast.gov/new/Ed/KidsCorner/ColoringBooks.aspx
(Another fill in interactive coloring book brought to you by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act)

KANSAS COLOR PAGES

Kansas State Symbols Coloring Book
http://www.kshs.org/educate/students/pdfs/symbols_coloring_book.pdf
(The Kansas Historical Society provides a 12 page booklet with our state symbols for budding Kansas artists)

Kansas Kids: Get Out Your Crayons!
http://www.sos.ks.gov/resources/kansaskids_color.html
(some printable pages provided by the Kansas Secretary of State)

Immunization Coloring Book
http://www.kdheks.gov/immunize/download/2008ECBTColoringBookEnglish.pdf
(offered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment)

Kansas 4-H Coloring and Information Book
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/4h_y2/4h987.pdf
(8 page booklet printed by Kansas State Unversity Research and Extension)

Coloring Sheets and Activities
http://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/p.aspx?tabid=766
(From the Kansas State University Department of Agronomy)

K-State Giveaways
http://www.optionsplus.ksu.edu/giveaways/
(Toward the middle of the page are a few coloring pages for Willie Wildcat fans as well as an outline map of the United States states)

WANT MORE???

Here are a few sample google searches:

color book site:gov
coloring pages site:gov
coloring sheets site:gov

Article contact: Bill Sowers
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