by Sierra Jensen, WMH Prevention Specialist
At Wasatch Mental Health, we understand these are trying times, and parents might be strapped for ideas on how to entertain their children during these home-school days. We are currently compiling a list of online activities and resources for families to turn to in order to stamp out the boredom, and give people access to places that they cannot physically go to at the moment.
Zoos and Aquariums
Cincinnati Zoo does a Facebook Live broadcast every day at 1 pm MST. https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/
Hogle Zoo does a Facebook Field Trip every day at 11:30 am. https://www.facebook.com/HogleZoo/
Tracy Aviary has virtual resources and posts Facebook videos every day at 3pm. https://www.facebook.com/tracyaviary/ and https://tracyaviary.org/virtual-aviary-resources
The Aquarium of the Pacific has webcam access to exhibits, and other virtual interaction opportunities: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/exhibits/webcams
Monterey Bay Aquarium has an 11 minute guided meditation session with jellyfish. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=495169991155930
Museums
The Smithsonian offers virtual tours to the Museum of Natural History: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour#:~:text=
Google Arts and Culture has over 2500 museums featuring content that can be viewed. https://artsandculture.google.com/project/streetviews
Educational Resources
Scholastic Learn at Home: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
Children’s education: https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning
Audible Stories has hundreds of audiobooks for ages 0-18 completely free. https://stories.audible.com/start-listen
The International Space Station (ISS) has recorded books read by people in space https://storytimefromspace.com/library/
Ranger Rick has games and outdoor activities available for free: https://rangerrick.org/
Cosmic Kids Yoga, introduction to yoga for children: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5uIZ2KOZZeQDQo_Gsi_qbQ
NASA has fun activities: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/
Learn a new Language with Duolingo. Free. https://www.duolingo.com/
YMCA Health and Fitness videos. Stay fit with these on demand videos. https://ymca360.org/on-demand#/.
Project Gutenberg. Free e-books. http://www.gutenberg.org/
Arts:
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems. Mo Willems, artist of the beloved children’s book “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” is hosting “Lunch Doodles” every day at 1:00 PM EST (11:00 am MDT) so that artists of all ages can come together and draw. https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/
Theater Without Theater. Shows a nightly theatrical broadcast. https://www.instagram.com/theatrewithouttheater/.
Have you found other fun, educational, or interesting resources for either adults or children? Share them with us on one of our social media accounts or email us at Instagram@wasatch.org.