ARTK12 is located in Prescott Valley, Arizona. We’ve been here about 3 years and love the area. Lots of hiking, some beautiful lakes and we get weather! I say “we get weather” because we moved from the San Diego area where it is often joked that the four seasons are summer, summer, summer and summer. It’s not quite that good (or bad), but it’s close.
So it’s fun here in Arizona for us ex-southern Californians to get our occasional snows, ice on our dog’s water dish and the monsoon season with thunder and lightening. Prescott, just up the road from us, has a nice downtown area where I often spend time walking. Recently I came across a sign that said:
Natural History Institute
Art Gallery
I had never seen this before so I walked in and talked to Pat about their organization. You can read all about them on their website: naturalhistoryinstitute.org. In brief they have an art gallery, science collections (herbarium, insects, birds), a lecture hall and they also sponsor various trips around the globe.
The Art Gallery
I ventured in because of the art gallery sign and I was not to be disappointed. The current exhibit is “The Art of Natural History” and features “Highlights from the Josephine Michell Arader Collection.” There are 19 prints. Among other artists there are 6 prints from John James Audubon one of the artists covered in ARTK12’s American Art History Semester II Curriculum. In semester 2 Kristin covers 2 Audubon paintings (Download a free John James Audubon lesson):

- Greater Flamingo
- American White Pelican.
The art exhibit has:
- California Vulture
- Great-footed Hawk
- Great Auk
- Stanley Hawk
- Carolina Parrot
- Yellow-crowned Wood-Warbler
If you live in the area this is a great exhibit for a homeschool or family outing!
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