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.
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.
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. A great use for all the artwork kids bring home.
Join the NYC-based Caring By Card Nursing Home Project, donate through
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.
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.
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).
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…
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.
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 drop-ins, weekly camps and semester classes.
For ages 3-18.
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.
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. Currently featuring partners from around the world.
Support Museums
In a win/win for all, refresh your library/playroom at expertly curated online shops of local museums. Find great toys, books, crafts and games for at-home entertainment and consider becoming a member of your faves – so many perks all year round (including store discounts and the ability to visit in person whenever). Some favorites:
…
CMOM at HOME
Museum educators from the Children’s Museum of Manhattan 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 exploration with super-pigeons in Superpowered Metropolis:…
#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…
Museum of Math Folding Fridays
Origami expert Kathleen Sheridan teaches unique origami models. Explore the wonders of paper folding — there’s math in every fold.
To participate, you’ll need several sheets of printer paper as well as several sheets of square paper (size should be 5.5″ – 8.5”). Origami paper is preferred – available to ship now from the…
Families and Folk Art: Create Your Own Weathervane
Families with children ages 4 and up are invited to join the American Folk Art Museum for online discussion and art-making inspired by current exhibition American Weathervanes: The Art of the Winds. Discuss what makes weathervanes special and how they function, look at mythological creatures, animal shapes and other examples from the exhibit and create an…
Guggenheim’s Sketch with Jeff
Guggenheim teaching artist Jeff Hopkins shares stories about the museum’s iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building while sketching stories followed by a prompt to create drawings of your own at home. Children are encouraged to share their sketches on Instagram and Twitter @Guggenheim using the hashtag #sketchwithJeff.
Whitney Kids Art Club
Young artists of all ages are invited to join a free weekly online program with Whitney educators. Experiment and make art with at-home art materials. Each week features a new project inspired by current exhibitions (available for in-person visits for more inspiration.
These programs aim to reach a neurodiverse audience with a…
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.
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. A great use for all the artwork kids bring home.
Join the NYC-based Caring By Card Nursing Home Project, donate through
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.
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.
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).
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…
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.
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 drop-ins, weekly camps and semester classes.
For ages 3-18.
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.
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. Currently featuring partners from around the world.
Support Museums
In a win/win for all, refresh your library/playroom at expertly curated online shops of local museums. Find great toys, books, crafts and games for at-home entertainment and consider becoming a member of your faves – so many perks all year round (including store discounts and the ability to visit in person whenever). Some favorites:
…
CMOM at HOME
Museum educators from the Children’s Museum of Manhattan 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 exploration with super-pigeons in Superpowered Metropolis:…
#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…
Museum of Math Folding Fridays
Origami expert Kathleen Sheridan teaches unique origami models. Explore the wonders of paper folding — there’s math in every fold.
To participate, you’ll need several sheets of printer paper as well as several sheets of square paper (size should be 5.5″ – 8.5”). Origami paper is preferred – available to ship now from the…