You must see: 'Minerals by Colour', a rainbow display that delights the eye

Or why rainbows always make my day

The Minerals by Colour display at the South Australian Museum, gorgeous!

In arranging a display, one can always rely on the rainbow spectrum for a brilliant eye-catching and visually satisfying result.  Here are some photographs of one of my favourite displays in the South Australian Museum (somewhere we visit with great regularity). There are some old favourites in the Museum we simply can't leave without visiting.  The tatty old lion with the swishy tail sitting in a Perspex box on the ground floor, the Plesiosaurs, the meteorite in the lobby, the fabulous and brilliantly staffed Information Centre (including the bee hive, a subject for a post to come) and Sylvie’s ‘never miss’; the giant squid (an ingenious use of 3 stories of an old elevator shaft).

The "Minerals by Colour" display is a personal 'never miss'. Hats off to the creator of this simply gorgeous display.  I stand for quite some time in front of this arrangement taking in all the beauty, it’s a clever way to draw people in and encourage the viewer to linger longer.  As the items in the cabinet are infinitely interesting to observe, the use of the rainbow spectrum only dawns on you once you stand back from the display.  I can honestly say I only became aware of the rainbow aspect of this presentation after I photographed it.  I had to share it; after all, in my culture, rainbows are a symbol of good luck.

Click here to take you to the South Australian Museum site

We are fortunate to witness many rainbows on our horizons, and they are always a thrill to behold.  I lament the inability of cameras to capture the ethereal beauty of the rainbow, this is the best I can do...

Included in today’s post is a quick paper plate rainbow project using pastels and watercolour, inspired by a pin from the Pinterest board "Things to thrill Sylvie".  It was a rainy day afternoon activity and the result looks quite cheery.  I think we will mail this happy rainbow to a friend in Taiwan to make her day.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Click here to visit the Pinterest board "Things to thrill Sylvie"

Perfect rainy afternoon activity for children

The pin that inspired Sylvie's version of this project.

Painted rainbow ready for construction, we used a glue stick to glue the centre tabs together.

The finished paper plate rainbow.

And, to continue the rainbow theme:

I highly recommend this book, the illustrations are lovely, there is a CD included, Sylvie loves it.

Click here to take you to the Amazon link to purchase this book.