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 activities (available in English and Spanish), watch favorite kid-friendly short films with prompts to spark discussion, dig…
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,…
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,…
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.