In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot has changed. Kids are home from school, parents are working remotely and often doing double time between work and childcare, the entire state is under a stay at home order until May 4th, and we’re all likely to experience moments of fear, exhaustion, boredom, and general ‘stir-craziness.’
While we might not be able to get out into public spaces or congregate in large groups, we are lucky enough to have access to a whole host of virtual experiences right at our fingertips, and physical experiences right outside our backdoors.
There is a lot out there to choose from right now, and if all that seems overwhelming, we recommend just getting outside to explore and observe. Our friends at the Harris Center for Conservation have a great list of things you and your kid can do outside to get you started, but on those rainy days or days where you just might be struggling, there are a great host of virtual experiences available online for you and your little ones to enjoy. Here’s just a short list to get you started:
San Diego Zoo: The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games.
Cincinnati Zoo: At 3pm each day tune into the Cincinnati Zoo Facebook page for a LIVE STREAM of “Home Safari” where you and your little ones can learn all about different animals up close and personal.
Yellow Stone National Park: Explore Mud Volcano, Mammoth Hot Springs, & the rest of Yellowstone!
MARS: Explore the surface of Market on the Curiosity Rover!
Virtual Farm Tours: The Canadian site FarmFood360 offer 11 virtual tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows to apples & eggs.
U.S. Space Museum & Rocket Museum: See the Saturn 5 Rocket on YouTube and more on this tour thanks to a real father/son outing.
Boston Children’s Museum: Walk through & explore 3 floors of fun in the Boston Children’s Museum!
Discovery Education: Explore some virtual fields trips on topics such as Polar Bears and the Tundra & more!
Animal Cameras: For all those little animal lovers out there! Explore a wide range of live cameras streams available on the web for viewing our most favorite creatures.
(If you have a favorite local venue you typically like to visit, we recommend checking out their websites too, because it’s very likely they have fun activities for you to enjoy during this time as well!)
During these uncertain times, we wish the entire community well. Enjoy your time exploring the natural world either up close or through a screen!
Written by: Lola Bobrowski
Outreach Coordinator, Cheshire County Conservation Ditrict