As a parent sheltering in place with kids I'm more grateful than ever for the skill, patience and professionalism of teachers. While parents don't need to run a coronavirus home school, you're probably looking for ideas to entertain and inform little ones. Here is a fantastic list of science, nature, environmental, climate change, and energy resources for kids, compiled by the Sierra Club's Climate Parents program.
You can find tips for how to talk with your kids about coronavirus as well as LOTS more educational content and fun, safe activities to engage in at home at the Climate Parents website.
Activities
- Activities / Environment America: Fifty Environmental Activities Kids Can Do From Home
- Activities / Dr. Mirjam S. Glessmer: 24 Days of Kitchen Oceanography
Coloring Books
- Coloring Books / Rachel Ignotofsky: The Wonderful Workings of Planet Earth
Digital Tours
- Digital Tour / Google Arts & Culture: 360 Views and Tours of National Parks
- Digital Tour / Brooklyn Museum: Climate in Crisis: Environmental Change in the Indigenous America
- Digital Tour / Multiple Sources: Virtual Field Trips including of the San Diego Zoo, Mars, and Yellowstone National Park
Games
- Games / Smithsonian Science Education Center: Science Games
Interactive Opportunities
- Interactive Opportunity / Skype a Scientist
Live Cams
- Live Cam / People Magazine: Master List of Live Cams from Zoos and Aquariums
- Live Cam / Monterey Bay Aquarium: Penguins, Jellies and More!
- Live Cam / San Diego Zoo
Podcasts
- Podcasts / Tumble / Gen-Z: Tumble Science Podcast for Kids
- Podcasts / Stitcher & Bill Nye: Science Rules! with Bill Nye
- Podcasts / National Geographic: Overheard at National Geographic
- Podcasts / Alie Ward: Ologies with Alie Ward
- Podcasts / Nature.org: BirdNote
- Podcasts / NPR: Wow in the World
- Podcasts / WNYC: Radiolab (highly recommend digging into their archives)
Reading
- Reading / Science News for Students: Science News For Students (I recommend you start here)
Social Media Accounts
- Instagram: I recommend following your favorite national parks, zoos, botanical gardens, and science and natural history museums. Other favorites include:
- World Wildlife International: @wwf
- The Explorers Club: @the_explorers_club
- Shedd Aquarium: @shedd_aquarium (incredible footage of the field trips that their penguins are taking while the aquarium is closed)
- Tanja Brandt-Tierfotografie: @tanja_brandt (nature photographer, and also owner of a dog and owl who are best friends)
- Cornell Bird Cams: @cornellbirdcams
- NASA Solar System Exploration: @nasasolarsystem
- NatGeo Wild: @natgeowild
- BBC Earth: @bbcearth
- Kelzuki / Kelsey Oseid: @kelzuki (wonderful nature illustrator. Her bo
Video & Film
- Videos / Storytime from Space: Astronaut Story Time
- Films / Environmental Film Festival Online has made several of its festival videos available for free online
Remember, there's lots more at the Climate Parents website.
If you have any additions or feedback, please email Sarah Turbow, Climate Parents’ national distributed organizer at sarah.turbow@sierraclub.org.