Arts & Crafts
Explore inspiring websites, instagrams and the collections of (sadly closed) fabulous museums with entertaining and educational websites designed for curious kids. Find videos, games and inspiration for at-home creativity. Also see our guide to educational websites and upcoming online art classes.
Please support these museums by shopping in their fantastic online shops for great toys and games (perfect for staying at home) and consider becoming a member of your faves - so many perks all year round plus help them in this hard time.
NEW VICTORY ARTS BREAK
Learn circus tricks, songwriting, puppet making, tap dance, magic and more skills inspired by the diverse shows at New Victory Theatre, an amazing NYC performing arts venue for families. watch excerpts from past and sadly cancelled productions.
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. Download instructions and materials…
#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…
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MANHATTAN
Museum educators share daily videos, sing-a-longs, games and more at CMOM at Home. Other resources include hands-on art-making instructions, music, and storytelling activities that promote language skills grounded in language and literacy research at All the Way to K and Beyond! and…
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…
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 these activities (available in English and Spanish), watch favorite kid-friendly short films with prompts to spark discussion,…
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…
TheaterWorks Anywhere
Use your imagination while learning the process of creating theater and adapting a book or story for the stage. Watch video clips from TheaterWorksUSA productions including Dog Man The Musical and Rosie Revere and Friends, go behind the scenes with…
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…
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.
Outschool
Explore just about any interest from math to Minecraft to piano with passionate teachers over live video chat. Choose from over 15,000+ classes including Harry Potter and Star Wars-themed explorations of explore history, art, science and more. Format include one-time…
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,…
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…
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.
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…
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,…
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…
WHITNEY KIDS ART CHALLENGE
Try projects, based on works of art in the Whitney’s amazing collection, designed especially for kids and grown-ups to do together. Learn about and be inspired by some of the diverse ways that modern American artists such as Andy Warhol,…
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.
EAT YOUR MONSTERS
Turn snacks into adorable creatures like frozen banana penguins and panda eggs with creative ideas from instagram account @eatyourmonsters.
Freshmade NYC Online
Cook at home with the wonderful teachers of Freshmade. Learn new recipes with professionals teachers. Join weekly camps with themes like Eat the Rainbow, Summer Picnic Foods, New Jersey Boardwalk Eats, Texas BBQ, Pies–Sweet & Savory and Pasta 101 Daily…
The Craft Studio Online
Take weekly unique arts and crafts projects from UES & Tribeca friendly all-ages art space The Craft Studio via zoo. Catered to different age groups each day from toddlers to tweens. Set up a private class with family and friends.…
Whitney Summer Studios
Kids, teens, and families are invited to join Whitney Educators for free weekly online art classes. Experiment, create, and learn together with at-home art materials. Each week features a new theme and project connected to a work of art in…
Met Opera Global Summer Camp
Join operatic adventures based on a weekly-kid-friendly opera (available to watch online Wednesday-Friday). Join interactive online informational sessions, arts & crafts, artist chats, opera story time, camper showcases and printable activity sheets live or watch the videos after.
Club CMA with Raquel
Join Raquel Du Toit, CMA Associate Director of Programming. us for 30 minutes of fun, play, and art-making. Bring your creative energy, make new friends, and share your art with others. For the ages 6-11.
CMA Live: Sculpt with David
Make your own mini clay creation with a step-by-step lesson with David Lee, CMA Marketing Coordinator and Teaching Artist. Add in details to give their sculptures a story. Themes rotate weekly.
At Home Art Class with the Guggenheim
Join live virtual art-making classes for students in grades 2-8. Explore images of the museum’s architecture, artwork from the Guggenheim’s permanent collection and special exhibitions from home. Included guided dialogue around a selection of artworks and art making prompts centered…
DIY Puppet Workshop Online with WonderSpark Puppets
Design and create a puppet at home with free daily online workshops from WonderSpark Puppets, weekdays at 4 pm and weekends at 10 am. Each day is a new puppet. Also, tune in for their weekly puppet shows Fridays at…
Kidville’s Beyond Your Backyard: Explore African Culture
Join Ms. Vasthy to explore different African cultures and learn how African influences have shaped the culture of that week’s city or county, which will vary from the Caribbean to Nigeria, and even New Orleans. Explore culture through dance parties,…
Little New-Yorkers @ Home
Join New-York Historical Society Storytime via Zoom every Tuesday and Friday for story time and crafts. Each class includes a special Little New-Yorkers hello song, silly stretches and exercises, a story book reading, and a craft to do at home.…
Tube Town Live
Join Sprout/Universal Kids TV host, Carly Ciarrocchi, in a craft-along improv livestream for all ages. Save toilet paper tubes and bring them Facebook Live and IG Live every Saturday at am. Create your own tube person and take it to…
Guggenheim Sunday Family Tour
Family-oriented virtual tours explore works from the Guggenheim’s collection with conversation and creative hands-on activities utilizing materials you can find at home. Includes art looking and hands-on art exploration. Tours are organized around a single theme and highlight artworks on…
Making With MAD
Join enriching creative immersions in art and design for young curious creatives who want to expand their skill sets, meet new friends, and discover new creative outlets. MAD’s experienced artist-educators lead hands-on making activities and each week, an artist-in-residence from…
Summer in a Cloud
A collaborative New York area JCC experience brings together the camp staffs, values, and programming of Camp Settoga, New Country Day Camp, and Camp Twelve Trails, Summer in the Cloud in a unique virtual summer experience. Choose two daily electives…
CMA Online Summer Art Colony Camps
Join young artists from anywhere in the world to experience CMA’s award-winning curriculum through themed online half-day camps. Whether participating in the “Drawing Olympics” or directing a home movie, campers will enjoy a week of creative and social engagement culminating…
92Y Virtual Camp Live
92Y’s immersive virtual summer experiences provide campers with personalized attention and a specialty curated curriculum. Each week campers will be guided by their camp concierge, an expert from the 92Y Camps Team, to assist in the selection of elective activity…
GIANT Summer Camp
Join The GIANT Room for STEAM (STEAM + Arts) camps online with weekly themes like Coding and Fashion and Nature Science. Learn new skills and build cool projects together. Design your own camp anytime options also available in coding, game…
MOMI Summer Media Camp
The Museum of Moving Image’s popular media camp goes online and global. Weekly themes include stop-motion animation, screenwriting, digital game design, and more, with participants working in small groups alongside specially trained artists and educators.
Kidville Campfire Virtual Summer Camp
Join daily interactive live camp programs with morning meetings, arts & crafts, dance parties and mini concerts. Includes access to 45-minute on-demand prerecorded video to supplement the live stream programming and a digital field guide to prep for the live…
NY Cake Academy’s Kids E-Camp
Create daily projects taught by award-winning cake decorators and pastry chefs. Learn skills like piping, cake decorating, cookie decorating, specialty cake pops and unique sweet treats. Price includes 5 day Project Supply Kit with everything you need shipped to you…
Kidville’s Art With a Heart
Grow your compassion and heart through community art projects in a free weekly class from Kidville. Explore themes rooted in the weekly Do More Good Challenge that promote kindness, connection, and community through story and hands-on art projects.
Morgan Bookmarks: A Family Art Experience
Explore the Morgan Library & Museum from home with a live interactive tour. Take a closer look at objects in the Morgan’s Collection Online, ranging from ancient to modern. Receive a creative prompt with each experience, for inspiration to write,…
JCC Manhattan Virtual Explore Together
Gather online for a playful and interactive virtual semiweekly class. Socialize and to learn through music, movement, stories, and creative play. Participate in mutual experiences through cooking, art, science exploration, and communal interactions, encouraging social and cognitive growth.
Camp Beyond the Ink
Joinan engaging, immersive, and educational music and arts online summer camp for childre. Attend interactive online workshops to explore the stories that music can tell and learn how to listen for them through art, games and dance. Includes a kit…
Turn Your Room into a GIANT Comic Festival
Write stories, design new characters and worlds, learn techniques to master doodling skills and publish original comics with live instructors and hands-on experimentation. Participants have the option to officially publish their work in GIANT publication series. Recommended for ages 5…