Summer and COVID? Now what? Spring session is over, summer is here, and camps are closed. How are we going to keep these kids entertained? Let me tell you something, we are survivors. This is hard, and it’s real, and I’m here to help you out a little bit to entertain those beautiful, mini-versions-of-you home-destroyers for a few minutes! Here’s a virtual survival kit. I pooled some great VIRTUAL activities and field trips for ALL OF US. Here they are:
Check out the Panda Cam at the Atlanta Zoo. Even while they’re napping, pandas are cute, no way around that.
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden hosts a Home Safari Facebook Live. A different animal is featured everyday at noon. The Zoo has considered those who don’t have social media, and also posts these Lives to their YouTube and their website.
San Diego Zoo also hosts Facebook Live Videos.
Georgia’s Aquarium is a pretty neat place to visit virtually. You can watch the open water exhibit and if you’re patient, you’ll get to see their whale shark!!
Are your kids interested in things a little more rural? Take a Farm Tour through Farm Food 360’s site.
Probably one of the coolest things I’ve found on the good ol’ world wide web is that NASA offers a slew of STEM activities for kids grades Kinder through 4th. You can build foam rockets, solve space station emoji puzzles, there are even worksheets to color and books for the younger kids.
Along the lines of STEM, the Discovery Centers are offering free virtual field trips complete with guides and hands-on activities. Kids are able to learn about polar bears and their lives in the tundra or they can get a behind the scenes look of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Houston, we’ve solved the boredom problem!
The Smithsonian is offerings virtual tours of their current and permanent exhibits. Some of the past exhibits are also on display virtually. This site is easy to use and allows you to get closer looks!
Want to take a look at the Great Wall Of China? Get the views and the history here!
If you’re on Google Chrome, download the Google Arts & Culture App, here are some other virtual tours to some famous museums:
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
What is available to learn during this pandemic is absolutely boundless. I hope in between the anxieties of how we will survive this thing, we are able to learn a little more about our planet, our history, our science, and of course ourselves. And if we do none of those things during this trying time, THAT’S OK TOO!