Gray Wall, Wow Wall: How Murals Change a Street
Picture a plain gray wall on your street. It is boring! Nobody smiles at it. Now picture that same wall painted with a giant blue whale, orange sun, and green vines. People stop. People point. People say WOW! That big painting on a wall is called a mural (say it: MYUR-ul).
In Philadelphia there are over 4,000 murals painted on real walls! It is called the City of Murals. Kids and grown-ups painted them together to make sad walls happy.
What You'll Learn
- A mural is a big painting on a wall. - Walls can go from plain to full of color. - Muralists plan a picture before they paint. - Murals make people feel happy and proud.
Before: The Plain Wall
A 'before' wall is bare. Maybe gray, maybe brown. Sometimes it has cracks or old marks. It does not tell a story. It just sits there, quiet and dull.
After: The Wow Wall
An 'after' wall is full of a big picture! It might show animals, flowers, faces, or your neighborhood. Bright colors make it pop. Now the wall tells a story and makes the whole street feel alive.
Muralists use a scaffold (a tall metal frame) to reach high spots, and rollers on long poles to paint big areas fast. Some murals are as tall as a house!
Muralists Make a Plan
Before painting, a muralist draws a small picture on paper first. This is the plan. Then they copy it BIG onto the wall. Planning helps the big painting come out just right.
Match each word to what it means.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
What is a mural?
Why does a muralist draw a small picture first?
Draw Your Own Before-and-After Wall
1. Fold a paper in half. On the left, draw a plain gray 'before' wall. 2. On the right, draw the SAME wall as an 'after' mural, full of color and one big fun thing (an animal, rainbow, or star). 3. Give your mural a title at the top. 4. Show your before-and-after to your class or family. Your finished paper shows how a muralist turns a boring wall into a WOW wall!
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