Make prints for Pride

Planning this activity

• Scouts is an inclusive, values-based movement, open to all those who share our fundamental values. Find out more in our equity, diversity and inclusion pages and learn about what Scouts are doing to support Pride.
• Pop ‘n’ Olly have lots of resources you could use to explore LGBT+ learning.
• Set up the paints and paintbrushes or sponges at your meeting place before everyone arrives. You'll need paints in each colour of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, dark pink) and enough paintbrushes or sponges for one per person.
• You could create prints using leaves or other natural objects collected in the Diversity in Nature activity. 

Learning about the rainbow flag

1. Ask your group if they know the colours of the rainbow. Can everyone name them?
2. Ask anyone if they have ever seen a rainbow flag before and if anyone knows what it might mean.
3. Tell everyone a bit about the rainbow flag.

4. You could explain that some families use rainbows to celebrate that they have two mums, or two dads, or that someone in their family is LGBT+.  June is Pride month and is a chance to be proud of LGBT+ people and to celebrate different rainbow families. There are also Pride parades and events throughout the year. We can show that we support them too and are proud of them too by being something called an ally, which means friend, by choosing to display the rainbow symbol.
5. Explain that today you’re going to great your own rainbows by making prints onto card with paint.

Making your Pride prints

1. Decide what kind of items or materials you want to use to make your prints. You could use one of the following suggestions, or use an idea suggested by your group. Some ideas include:

• • Natural objects, such as leaves, sticks, feathers and shells
  • Craft materials, such as wool, pom poms, pipe cleaners, tissue paper and buttons
  • Soft Styrofoam, such as from takeaway containers or pizza bases
  • Dry and clean recyclable objects, such as egg boxes, tissues boxes, yoghurt pots, toilet roll tubes and empty bottles
  • Painting directly onto thumbs, fingers, hands or feet – this one can tickle!
  • Cookie cutters in different shapes
  • Rolling pins wrapped in textured material, such as string and bubble wrap
  • Fruit and vegetables, such as potatoes, oranges, apples or carrots

2. Using the paints and a few paintbrushes or sponges, encourage everyone to decorate the items using just the colours found in a rainbow.
3. Each person could have a different colour, or everyone might choose to paint their objects using all the rainbow’s colours.

4. Once everyone has painted their objects, they should take a piece of card and gently press the painted side onto the card to create a print. They may want to use lots of different objects and items to add lots of different prints, colours and textures to their picture.

5. Put the pictures somewhere safe to dry.