Feel the clay underneath your fingernails. Throw some paint on the canvas. But be careful not to smear the charcoal on your Sunday dress.On Saturday, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center offers all that and more during its monthly free Family Adventure Day at its Bemis School of Art.”I think the event provides some quality family time, builds relationships and provides art experiences for visitors that might not (otherwise) get art instruction,” says Tara Thomas, the FAC’s director of education.The Fine Arts Center has been offering the Family Adventure Day in some form for more than 20 years. The event is a time for adults and children to “sample a variety of art media in a studio setting,” Thomas says. Art instructors from the Bemis School are present to guide visitors as they experiment.Thomas says the adventure days generally see 200-500 participants. A free, docent-led tour of the galleries will be offered at 12:30 p.m.”Creatures of Air, Land and Sea” uses zoo animals as a theme for visitors’ artistic explorations. Three activities will be offered throughout the day: “Charcoal Cats,” “Building a Zoo with Clay,” and “Ocean Journey” — which features watercolors and pastels. All materials are provided.The Fine Arts Center earns no revenue from the event, but its continued popularity with the community has motivated FAC officials to find ways to keep it going.”We recently received a national grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that allows us to offer the program monthly through the end of 2012,” says Charlie Snyder, director of communications at the FAC.The event’s value is found in the satisfaction of the visitors, and their shared enthusiasm for art.”Ultimately, we’d love for families who participate to eventually become FAC members and register for classes at Bemis,” Snyder says. “But we understand that we have a winner on our hands when several hundred kids walk in our doors each month with their families, and we get to see their faces light up from the joy the comes from expressing yourself creatively through art.”

A young girl gets help with pastels at a Family Adventure Day. Photo by Courtesy of the FAC

Kids play with clay at a Family Adventure Day. Photo by

A mother and son paint together at a Family Adventure Day. Photo by Courtesy of the FAC