By Brett Fisher

  • Photos by Brett Fisher. A museum volunteer readies a microscope for viewing sagebrush.
    Photos by Brett Fisher. A museum volunteer readies a microscope for viewing sagebrush.
  • A family engages in a coloring activity Saturday at the Nevada State Museum.
    A family engages in a coloring activity Saturday at the Nevada State Museum.
  • A little girl and her mother at a coloring station inside the Nevada State Museum.
    A little girl and her mother at a coloring station inside the Nevada State Museum.
  • Stems from a sagebrush specimen on display for children to examine.
    Stems from a sagebrush specimen on display for children to examine.
  • Sage roots on display inside the science lab at the Nevada State Museum.
    Sage roots on display inside the science lab at the Nevada State Museum.
  • Sagebrush leaves under a microscope at the Nevada State Museum.
    Sagebrush leaves under a microscope at the Nevada State Museum.

Sagebrush, Nevada’s state flower, was the feature Saturday during the Nevada State Museum’s Family Fun Saturday event.

Art and science activities engaged children, teaching them about the importance of sagebrush to the Great Basin environment, as a habitat for other animals, and of its uses by humans.

Children were able to use all of their senses to explore the plant, from using microscopes to view cell structure, to feeling branches and stems, to smelling the flowers, listening to stories, and through an artist three-dimensional diorama.