Bloom Garden: Art and Nature Workshops invite families to explore the natural world through hands-on art making, storytelling, and seasonal activities in the Bloom Garden at Noah’s Ark. These workshops connect creativity, care for the earth, and shared cultural experiences, and feature collaborations with artists, educators, and community partners. Each workshop reflects what's growing that season, the Jewish calendar, and the stories we're exploring together.

• Sunday, March 15, 12:00 and 2:00 pm—Passover-Inspired Seder Plates
  Join us for a hands-on workshop inspired by Passover traditions. Through interactive storytelling and song, we’ll explore how the seder plate helps tell a story of gratitude and freedom. Participants will create their own seder plate artwork using watercolor, collage elements, and natural materials. 

  Led by artist Nicky Pitman of Shemesh Farms, a Shalom Institute program where adults with diverse abilities grow, harvest, and create community through gardening and handmade goods.

• Sunday, May 17, 12:00 and 2:00 pm—Pot Painting and Repotting
  Join Latinx with Plants for a short and sweet workshop that invites guests to decorate their very own terracotta pot, choose a small succulent to plant inside, and take it home afterwards!
  
  Latinx with Plants is a small woman of color–owned business in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles whose focus is to celebrate and uplift people of color in the plant world. Andi Xoch, the founder of Latinx with Plants, is a street and print artist whose practice is deeply embedded in community activism. While the shop began with an Instagram account that was at first dedicated to sharing fun memes, plant inspo, and plant parent goals, their community quickly grew into something they could never imagine. They hope that through plant parenthood, people will be able to deepen their connection with nature and the earth, and tune into the healing that caring for plants can offer.
   
• Sunday, June 7, 12:00 and 2:00 pm—Graffiti Art
  Join artist Siyo-Win Peters for an outdoor graffiti workshop. This workshop invites participants to look closely at nature and create their own graffiti artwork inspired by the vibrant colors and unique shapes found in both plants and pollinators.
  
  Siyo-win Peters is a contemporary Native American and Mexican artist whose work is rooted in storytelling, remembrance, and social consciousness. As a painter, stencil artist, printmaker, and street artist, she creates pieces that honor the lives, histories, and resilience of Indigenous communities while inviting viewers into a deeper understanding of their ongoing experiences.