by Ashlyn, Savannah Children’s Museum educator
May 25, 2026 – With school out and the summer heat making its way to Savannah, Georgia, we encourage intentionality in creating safe and creative play. One great way to help students understand the importance of sunscreen and protection from the sun is to create sunography paintings with sunscreen. Students get to create whatever designs they want while learning practical and scientific life lessons regarding both chemistry and art.
At Savannah Children’s Museum, we like to use any opportunity to deepen natural science knowledge and outward artistic expression for our students. This art activity is an opportunity for you and your student to connect while having a creative, hands-on sensory exploration through art.
Creating sunography paintings is simple. Your supplies include a bottle of (possibly expired from last year) sunscreen, a paintbrush, and your child’s favorite colored paper. It’s important for kids to develop fine motor skills and unconventional ways to create. Feel free to find alternatives to paint brushes such as sponges, straws, or pine needles. Creativity is the key, and they can create their own DIY designs and paint brushes using free and found objects. Once you find all the necessary supplies, you’re going to create your painting using sunscreen as your paint. Once your painting is done, you’re going to place your painting outside. Eventually, as the sun’s UV begins to lighten the paper naturally, your design will be left behind in the original color of your paper, like reverse painting. Bonus points if you keep a timer and check on your painting every 20 minutes. This can be an opportunity for your student to learn telling time with an analog clock or understanding a timeline for science experiments.
To accompany this art activity, feel free to discuss the importance of protection from the sun. Extra education points if you can focus on how the sun creates so much thermal and ultraviolet light energy. As for encouraging your student or child to connect with science, starting small will always help a child to connect on a deeper level. Remember, being intentional about encouraging questions and activities related to STEAM doesn’t have to be complex; sometimes it could be as simple as getting a little messy with sunscreen.
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