Arts & Crafts
Ignite at-home creativity (plus explore games, videos and art history) at these websites & instagram accounts for curious kids.
Visit NYC's open museums for more inspiration and see our guide to educational websites.
Cards For Seniors
Make cheerful cards for isolated seniors. Use big print (not cursive) so the card is easy to read. Provide stickers and stencils to help the younger kids. Adults can make cards too. Join the NYC-based Caring By Card Nursing Home Project, donate through DOROT and Meals on Wheels NYC or check with local nursing…
Art For Kids Hub
Follow along step by step as a professional artist and his kid draw animals, emojis, people, vehicles and more. Clear, simple steps turn anyone into an illustrator.
Children’s Museum of the Arts
Children’s Museum of the Arts’ blog features how-to videos and detailed instructions for art projects like Paper Chains of Kindness and Collaborative Drawing Games. Projects can be adapted for different ages and made with materials around the house.
Queens Theatre Maker Series
Learn some basic cooking, baking, and crafting techniques that can be done with common items and ingredients with Queens Theatre. Join as an participant or an observer.
William & Esle’s Adventures in Art & Science
Join Bronx Zoo and NY Aquarium educators on Instagram live as they play historic WCS scientists. Draw along with this imaginative adventure to a tropical rainforest to discover an incredible animal that loves to hang from trees. Designed for elementary school aged children, but is free and open to animal lovers of all ages.
Painting The Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Enjoy treasures from the Royal Academy of Arts landmark exhibition ‘Painting The Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse,’ including masterpieces from Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sargent, and Matisse in a free broadcast on Facebook. The film’s Executive Producer will also be live online throughout the film to answer questions.
Crazy Science Online
Try fun and educational science projects for pre-K through 5th grade with a free live streaming science class with a local provider. More (paid classes) available throughout the week.
IsraPalooza
Celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut with a sample a refreshing smorgasbord of Israeli tastes. Explore different sides of Israel and Israeli culture including a session with world-famous violinist Itzhak Perlman, a live concert with David Broza, talks with “starchitect” Moshe Safdie, cookbook author and food anthropologist Joan Nathan, the inventor of the modern day firewall Gil Shwed,…
BUSY TODDLER
Find a trove of educational, easy-to-set up creative and sensory activities from a K-1 teacher turned SAHM. So many great ideas, quick & easy to messy messy, babies to tweens plus links to useful art supplies. Follow their great instagram account for daily inspiration.
Crafting the Creatures and Characters of Jim Henson’s World
Join Bonnie Erickson, Caroly Wilcox, and Rollie Krewson, who all worked with Jim Henson for decades, designing and building beloved puppet characters for Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and beyond with the Museum of Moving Image for a live online conversation about what it took to bring such characters as Elmo, Miss Piggy, and Fizzgig…
Nature Bugs & Young Explorers
Foster a bond between your preschooler and nature with Sheldrake’s weekly program. Each week features a nature theme with creative learning activities and virtual adventures in the natural world – requests welcome. Includes video visits to Sheldrake, observations of spring, at-home craft projects, and pre-class gathering activities.
Taste Bud Kitchens At-Home Cooking Club
Join a local cooking school for live-stream kids cooking classes in a variety of topics and find tons of recipes (including allergy-friendly options) in their cooking video library. Sign up to their email list for access.
Toddler Time in Virtual Nature
Help instill a life-long love of nature in your little one with Sheldrake’s weekly program for toddlers. Each week features a nature theme with creative learning activities and virtual adventures developed to connect children and caregivers to the natural world. Includes video visits to Sheldrake, observations of spring, at-home craft projects, and pre-class gathering activities.…
Freshmade NYC Online Classes
Cook at home with the wonderful teachers of Freshmade. Learn new recipes with professionals teachers answering questions and helping navigate the fridge and pantry. Choose from classes throughout the day for all ages on a variety of themes, from pancakes to pizza.
All class payments go directly to the teachers. A tasty way to support…
DAYS WITH GREY
An educator and mom to 3 shares daily ‘Breakfast Invitations,’ easy-to-set-up sensory and art activities for preschoolers and toddlers.
#DISNEYMAGICMOMENT
Experience the magic of Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and National Geographic with stories, videos, and activities to inspire imagination and discovery. Includes drawing tutorials. storytimes, and recipes for Disney park favorites.
NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN’S THEATER
Lovely local kids theater company provides entertaining and enriching activities for little ones inspired by past productions including art projects, theater games, storytimes, downloadable activity books and video sing-alongs.
VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOURS
Take virtual journeys to over 1,200 museums around the world via Google Arts & Culture. See collections and gallery views of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology, Paris’s Musée d’Orsay and more (plus NYC faves like the Whitney, Guggenheim and MoMA).
MOMI Moving Image Studio
Find tutorials and interactive ways to collaborate and make media art with Astoria’s Museum of Moving Image educators. Create Jim Henson-inspired puppets, learn about film editing and apply to have your media art shared on their YouTube channel.
MoMA Families At Home
MoMA provides resources and ideas—from art-making activities to books and films—to spark creativity and fun at home. Explore artworks in MoMA’s collection through activities (available in English and Spanish), watch favorite kid-friendly short films with prompts to spark discussion, dig deeper into Dorothea Lange: Words & Pictures, find favorite Children’s Books about Art, listen…
Wave Hill Family Art Projects
Join nature-themed storytelling and artmaking at home from historic garden Wave Hill. Create with educator-led videos based on previously planned thematic projects but made relevant to the current situation. New video posted each Saturday.
CMA HOW-TO TUESDAYS
Children’s Museum of the Arts’ blog features videos and detailed instructions for art projects like Paper Chains of Kindness and Collaborative Drawing Games. Projects can be adapted for different ages and made with materials around the house.
Trusty Sidekick Studio
Peek behind-the-scenes with an innovative local children’s theater troupe and take creative mini-classes with Trusty Sidekick Artists inspired by past productions. Videos with written instructions include ‘Hike Through Your Home,’ ‘Make A Squirrelly Dance’ and ‘Shadow Puppetry.’
The Paper Bag Players At Home
Watch short sketches from The Paper Bag Players, an acclaimed NYC troupe that makes stories out of cardboard and paper, paired with questions and/or activities that will help children think more about what they’ve watched and provide opportunities for them to create and imagine on their own. Play games and make cars, crazy faces, and…
Jewish Museum At-Home Art Projects
Explore hands-on art activities inspired by works of art in the Jewish Museum’s diverse collection and exhibition. Activities like Abstract Stamp Print and Found Object Sculpture, eachaccompanied by information on the artist, are designed for kids and adults to create together at home.
Dav Pilkey At Home
Get creative and have fun with the creator of cult favorites Dog Man and Captain Upderpants. Watch short videos of Pilkey drawing and reading aloud and download printable activity sheets, drawing guides, comic book creators, games and more.
Spellbound At Home
Find weekly inspiration for creating theater magic at home from Brooklyn-based Spellbound Theater, a troupe focused on performing for 0–5-year-olds , including audio tracks, videos and downloadable PDFs that inspire creative play. Also watch weekly video series Anywhere with Catbear, featuring puppet friend Catbear visiting a different Spellbound artist to come…
TATE KIDS
Play art-inspired games, take cheeky quizzes, find art activities, and share your art on a fun website from British museums Tate and Tate Modern. Find detailed instructions for activities such as “think like the artist Alberto Giacometti” and create interesting portraits and landscapes.
NYSCI At Home
Find tons of games, activities, experiments and projects from Queen’s New York Hall of Science. At-Home STEM resources encourage open-ended exploration and imaginative learning. Learn about physics, engineering, design, biology, math, chemistry and more with videos, instructions for experiments and art projects, interactive graphic novels, engaging apps and more.
The Yo-Yo Mo Show: Musical Doodling
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Mo Willems, author/illustrator the beloved Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny, and the Elephant and Piggy series, offer a series of playful experiments that show how art and music inspire each other. Watch, listen and join in from home with paper and doodling implements.
Also…
Cooper Hewitt Online Learning
Follow along with design activities (with clear, well-designed instructions) to create protoypes, chairs, zines, posters and more. Also explore design case studies, remarkable female and LBGQT+ creators, the digital mansion, and museum exhibitions. Great graphics, video and easy-to-understand text for all ages.
Brooklyn Museum Learn and Teach
Explore exhibition or objects from the encyclopedic Brooklyn Museum in-depth with printable teaching prompts and activity ideas, developed by the museum’s professional educators. Includes new mini art lessons for ages 2–6 and 7 & up. Also dream up zany stories, while practicing parts of speech, with Brooklyn Museum Mad Libs and brush up on your…
THE ART GARDEN
Explore a variety of projects featuring paint, collage/mixed media, printmaking, 3-Dimension, recycled art, children’s books, process art, nature activities, holidays and seasons, sensory, and play ideas from an elementary art teacher. Frequently posts fun ideas on her instagram @theartgardenblog.
Cards For Seniors
Make cheerful cards for isolated seniors. Use big print (not cursive) so the card is easy to read. Provide stickers and stencils to help the younger kids. Adults can make cards too.
Join the NYC-based Caring By Card Nursing Home Project, donate through DOROT and Meals on Wheels NYC or check with local nursing…
#METKIDS
Explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s vast collection from home. Take a virtual time machine to explore great works of art from Prehistoric Egyptian tombs to Warhols Campbell Soup dresses. Each work has a short related video, interesting information and suggestions for imagining and creating works at home.
Also watch videos on who protects the…
25th Annual BAMkids Film Festival
Join BAMkids’ annual celebration of international stories on film—and create your own new stories through experiential activities, performances, and play. Now in its 25th year, this interactive festival showcases over 50 animated and live action short films from around the globe.
Before or after screenings, step into a free family-friendly carnival featuring walkabout performers, live…