My printer is no stranger to the many free printable coloring pages it churns out for my kids, and if you know what I’m talking about, then joy of joys! You can currently get access to dozens and dozens of free printable coloring pages from top libraries, museums and cultural institutions, allowing kids to color in real artwork and vintage illustration to make them all their own.
The one catch: This global coloring fest ends Friday, February 10 so hurry!
Related: 21 of the coolest coloring books for adults
The effort is called #ColorOurCollections and while lots of options probably fall more into adult coloring page territory, I’ve gone through them for you to round up the ones I think might be most appealing to kids of all ages.
I know my own girls would love the 1970 indie magazine cover illustration of Shirley Chisholm from our own Brooklyn Public Library; the sea monsters from the Newberry Research Library; and the NY Academy of Medicine’s awesome 1920 illustration of 26 female heroes.
Younger kids definitely need the free Beatrix Potter coloring pages from Frederick Warne & Co. And the Smithsonian Libraries does a great job choosing images with enough white space to be colorable.
But hey, start with my list below and see what looks fun to you.
Top image: National Museum of Wales
Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Collection Free Printable Coloring Sheets (including Shirley Chisholm, above)
Newberry Library Free Coloring Pages
Smithsonian Libraries Free Printable Coloring Pages (in 3 PDFs)
The University of Scranton Penmanship Free Printable Coloring Pages
American Bookbinders Museum Free Printable Coloring Pages
National Museum of Wales Free Printable Coloring Pages (including the unicorn at very top, and the dragon here)
Auraria Library Free Printable Coloring Pages (more dragons!)
Biodiversity Heritage Library Free Printable Coloring Pages (in 5 PDFs)
University of Houston Special Collections Free Printable Coloring Pages (including a fun Disney illustration of the UH cougar mascot)
Frederick Warne & Co Archives Free Beatrix Potter Coloring Pages
New York Academy of Medicine Free Printable Famous Women Coloring Sheet
Folger Shakespeare Library Coloring Pages
University of Strathclyde Coloring Pages
Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Free Printable Coloring Sheets (including Sir John Tenniel’s original Alice In Wonderland illustration, above; and a very cool 1870 line illustration promoting The Mystery of Edwin Drood)
New York Academy of Medicine Free Printable Coloring Pages
The New York Public Library Free Printable Coloring Pages
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Free Printable Coloring Pages
University of Reading Museums and Collections Free Printable Coloring Pages (2 PDFs)
University of Minnesota Free Printable Coloring Pages (and check out some of the finished ones!)
Find the entire list at The Color Our Collections page from the NY Academy of Medicine Library and thanks to all the institutions for putting together this amazing effort! Download all the free printable coloring pages through February 10, 2017.
PS If your kids spend today — a snow day in my neck of the woods — coloring, share your images on social media and tag the institution and use the hashtag #ColorOurCollections
