This is a photo of the Paint Mines in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Native Americans “mined” the brightly colored bands to make paint. There is evidence of human life in the area of the mines as far back as 9,000 years ago.
I am always amazed by the ingenuity and creativity of the Native Americans. This area is truly amazing, my photo does not do it justice. But, it is even more amazing that the Native Americans saw this area, and realized that they could use the brightly colored bands as the basis for different colored paints.
What else did Native Americans use to make paints? What did other groups of humans use in the past to make paints? What are the different ways that they used these paints? How do we know that they used the materials found in the mines for paints?
An authentic project might be to use things found in nature today to create paints, and to use them. Perhaps, a display explaining how a group of humans created paints and dyes in the past could be made using only paints and dyes created by your students. Who knows what they might discover as a basis for paints and dyes!
*You might want your students to cover their clothes with smocks, before they start to make and use the paints and dyes. More importantly, have any visitors to your room do the same. Especially a visiting school district supervisor, wearing a flowing kaftan. I’ll skip that “fun” story, you can use your imagination!
The Educational Journey 