Here is a list of Activities, Events, and Resources to keep yourself and your family entertained! Check back often, as this list will grow and change!
Harry Potter: A History of Magic - The British Library has made their Harry Potter exhibit available for everyone - muggles and magic users alike! - to view online! Check it out here.
And for more Harry Potter goodness, check out Harry Potter at Home - a collection of crafts, activities, and learning opportunities that all have to do with the Wizarding World! You can also get sorted into Hogwarts or Ilvermorny, find your wand, and discover your Patronus by registering for a free account - with parental permission, of course!
The Paris Opera is broadcasting screening performances online for free through their website. Follow the link here, translate the page to English, and watch famous Operas like Swan Lake, Giselle, and more!
Don't quite have enough culture in your life? Check out this list of Shakespeare plays and adaptations available to stream with your current streaming subscriptions! Grab a copy of your favorite play and try to figure out what each production does to make them stand out!
Follow this link to find ten different Art History classes you can take online! These all take a bit longer than a week, but they're bound to be interesting, with a few being curated and taught by art professors and historians from around the world!
Ready to throw in the towel on homeschooling? UEN has come forward with a Learn @ Home initiative to provide information for teachers, parents, and students during this trying time. Check it out here!
Want to book an escape room, but can't escape your house? Check out these virtual escape rooms, put together by Librarians from around the country! Librarian Shana McCoota has collected all of the current escape rooms on her blog and will update it as more become available!
Every day while school is out, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden will be hosting a "home safari" on their Facebook Live Feed at 3 PM ET. They will have up-close animal experiences, plus activities to do at home. You may even get an up-close and personal look at the famous Fiona the hippo.
Want to beef up your writing skills? Check out these Instagram Live writing lessons from author Kelly Yang! Follow her on Instagram @kellyyanghk. The lessons will be on MWF at 3 PM.
You and your family can travel across the country to the world-famous San Diego Zoo. The San Diego Zoo is currently hosting ten live webcams to help you meet a large variety of their animals, including the zoo's koalas, penguins, tigers, and more. They are also sharing stories and fun arts and crafts online.
Travel the world without leaving your bed! Follow this link to go on virtual field trips around the world, only by clicking on the pink markers on a map!
Stop by the ABQ BioPark for everything from sharks and Komodo dragons to polar bears and more. They have a Facebook Live stream with animal feedings and other content, including the New Mexico BioPark Society's video series "Your Dose of Vitamin Z."
Want a story that's out of this world? Check out Story Time from Space, where astronauts in space read picture books to kids! Follow this link for hours of viewing (and reading!) fun!
The Houston Zoo has an entirely different assortment of animals that call the zoo their home. Here you can watch the zoo's herd of Asian elephants wander through their enormous habitat or see the rhinos roll in their mud puddle. For an added bonus, while tuning in to some of the live streams, you can direct the action by using a button in the lower right corner of the screen, allowing you to zoom in and around the habitats for about a minute.
Looking to keep your kids active, but not sure how? Check out this YouTube channel, Cosmic Kids Yoga, where all the yoga instruction is geared towards grade school kids! There's even a Harry Potter-themed yoga adventure!
Did you know that the Smithsonian's National Zoo has webcams available for giant pandas, lions, elephants, and even naked mole rats? The Smithsonian's webcams stream 24/7, but since the zoo shut down, they are not being staffed by volunteers—that means the animals might sometimes wander out of frame from time to time.
Teens: Check out this list of resources to keep your mind busy and entertained! There's virtual cooking, D&D, Art, Book Clubs, and more!
Starting April 1 (no joke!), Dav Pilkey and the Library of Congress will have videos and activities available for free, including how-to-draw instructions, read-a-longs, and more! Check out this article for ways to access the content!
Dolly Parton, the Book Lady from the Imagination Library, will be starting a video series on Thursday, April 2 titled, Goodnight With Dolly. Check out the YouTube Channel and trailer here!