Rainbow Coloring Pages

• Simple arches: five to seven wide bands and nothing else.
• Rainbows and clouds: an arch that lands in a fluffy cloud at each end.
• Rainbows after rain: over fields and houses, with umbrellas and puddles below.
• Pots of gold: the rainbow's end from the old stories, good for March.
• Hearts and stars: rainbow-striped hearts and arches scattered with stars.
• Color-word rainbows: the name of a color printed in each band.
• Boho rainbows: thick, hand-drawn arches decorated with dots and leaves.
• Double rainbows: two arches, one above the other.

From the outside of the arch to the inside, the colors always come in the same order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. A made-up name helps you remember it: ROY G. BIV. Red is always on the top and outside. Violet is always on the bottom and inside.

A rainbow happens when sunlight shines into raindrops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into its colors, a bit like a tiny prism, then bounces it back toward you. That's why you only see a rainbow with the sun behind you and the rain in front of you.

More to know:

• Double rainbows are real. The second, fainter arch sits above the first, and its colors run in the opposite order, with red on the inside.
• Rainbows are full circles. The ground gets in the way, so we see only the top part. From an airplane you can sometimes see the whole ring.
• There's no end to find. A rainbow moves as you move, so the pot of gold stays out of reach.

Coloring tips: color along the curve, not across it. Press lightly where two bands meet so they blend. Leave the clouds white and shade their undersides with pale gray or blue.