Experience Your Washington Pavilion @ Home
Looking for entertaining and educational activities for kids from the comfort of your home? Enjoy watching movies with a corresponding educator guide, following a step-by-step cartooning tutorial, creating make-at-home projects, watching science demonstrations and more. Join us in finding new ways to learn, connect and interact from a distance with your loved ones at home!
Bookmark this page and continue coming back for more new demonstrations, activities and educational opportunities!
Click the YouTube video thumbnails below to learn more about exhibitions in various galleries of our Visual Arts Center with our Curator, Cody Henrichs, at your Washington Pavilion.
Canis Latrans | University of South Dakota MFA
Shultz Gallery and Young Artists Gallery
Diego Rodriguez-Warner | farther from the truth
Jerstad Gallery
Ancient Alchemy
Bates Trimble Gallery
Click the YouTube video thumbnails below to learn about acting tactics and choreography you can do at home with our Dakota Academy of Performing Arts Program Coordinator, Debbi, in the Belbas Theater at your Washington Pavilion.
Acting Tactics
One Word at a Time Story
Simple Dance Choreography
Click the YouTube video thumbnails below to learn about how to create fun art projects at home with Miss Mercedes in the Carver Classroom at your Washington Pavilion.
Junk Mail Art Project #1
Junk Mail Art Project #2
Paper Art Project
Marker Art Project
Click the YouTube video thumbnails below to watch cartooning classes in the Raven Children's Studio in the Visual Arts Center at your Washington Pavilion.
Face Cartooning Class
Batman Cartooning Class
Wonder Woman Cartooning Class
Grasshopper Cartooning Class
Monster Cartooning Class
Click the YouTube video thumbnails below to watch science demonstrations in the Jack's Imagination Lab in the Kirby Science Discovery Center at your Washington Pavilion.
Volcano Science Demonstration
Memory Science Demonstration
Color Science Demonstration
Fizzy Science Demonstration
Click the YouTube video thumbnails below to watch science demonstrations at Avera Stage Science in the Kirby Science Discovery Center at your Washington Pavilion.
Bang Science Demonstration
Bounce Science Demonstration
Fizz Science Demonstration
Pop Science Demonstration
Smash Science Demonstration
Make-at-Home Projects
Here are some fun projects and activities that you can make yourself at home!
Cleaning Chemistry
Instrucciones en español (PDF)
Magic Milk
Instrucciones en español (PDF)
Rainbow Crow
Instrucciones en español (PDF)
Swimming Raisins
Instrucciones en español (PDF)
Make-at-Home Recipes
"The Best" Homemade Play Dough
Bubbling Slime
Cloud Dough
Elephant Toothpaste
Fluffy Slime
Messy Science Gloop!
Rubbery Goop
Sand Foam
Soapy Slime
Radley Rex Coloring Sheet
Color and play with Radley Rex at home! Download our activity sheet, print it and grab your favorite coloring utensils.
Radley Rex Coloring Book
Sanford fit is a health activation program from Sanford Health – sponsor of our Kirby Science Discovery Center’s fitZone – developed to empower children and parents to make healthy lifestyle choices that help prevent childhood obesity. Anyone can use these free, online educational resources at home! Discover hundreds of lessons, slide shows, printables, videos, activities and tips for keeping kids active and healthy.
fitBoost: Try out these fun moves to enhance physical fitness and mental alertness.
fitFlow: Yoga is a great way to recharge, add movement and practice mindfulness anytime throughout the day.
Virtual Classroom Lessons: Being fit is more than just eating right and exercising. It’s understanding what influences our choices. Our program is grounded on four pillars essential to building awareness of healthy lifestyle choices, guiding decision making and improving self-management skills.
Free Educational & Physical Activity Videos: You can use these videos at home or on the go! Try the snack quiz or the workout video.
Travel on a cross-country journey listening to the musical heritage of America, dive under the sea to explore coral reefs, dolphins and humpback whales, learn more about engineers and artists and more from the comfort of your home with these educational movies! After the movie, dive into deeper conversation with corresponding educator guides.
America's Musical Journey
A cross-country journey celebrating the unique diversity of America's musical heritage.
Available for streaming on: YouTube (free) (as well as Apple TV and GoUSA TV via Roku)
An educator guide is also available.
Coral Reef Adventure
Two filmmakers travel the world documenting the planet's coral reefs and the creatures that call them home.
Available for streaming on: Amazon Prime
An educator guide (PDF) is also available.
Dolphins
A playful, up-close look at the dolphins of Alaska, Patagonia and the Bahamas.
Available for streaming on: Amazon Prime
An educator guide is also available.
Dream Big
This inspiring celebration of innovations big and small and the amazing engineers behind them will change how you think about engineering.
Available for streaming on: Vimeo on Demand
An educator guide and educational videos are also available.
Humpback Whales
A journey into the mysterious world of one of nature's most awe-inspiring marine mammals.
Available for streaming on: Vimeo on Demand
An educator guide and educational videos are also available.
National Parks Adventure
The ultimate off-trail adventure into the nation's untamed wilderness in places like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and many more.
Available for streaming on: Vimeo on Demand
An educator guide and educational videos are also available.
The Living Sea
Celebrates the beauty and wonder of the ocean as it explores our relationship with this complex and fragile environment.
Available for streaming on: Amazon Prime
Van Gogh: Brush with Genius
A moving look at the artist's journey from the time of his first canvases at age 27 to his death 9 years later - a period during which he painted more than 900 paintings.
Available for streaming on: Amazon Prime
South Dakota Department of Tourism
South Dakota-themed online activities and lessons for kids
Association of Science and Technology Centers Educational Resources
Thank you to our Association of Science and Technology Centers partnership, we're happy to share these additional fun learning opportunities below:
STEM Activity Sessions
- Asheville Museum of Science (Asheville, North Carolina, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) is delivering daily doses of play in a new digital way, the museum shares simple STEM-activity sessions for learning at home.
Daily Do-it-Yourself Science Activities
- Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (Dayton, Ohio, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) offers virtual programming throughout the day and releases a daily do-it-yourself science activity, with easy to get materials, step-by-step instructions, and a basic science explanation for families to download.
100 Ways to Play and Beyond the Chalkboard
- Boston Children’s Museum (Boston, Massachusetts, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) is sharing 100 Ways to Play and its Beyond the Chalkboard website with hundreds of free activities designed for afterschool settings.
Live Wildlife Webcams
- California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, California, United States ｜Facebook｜Twitter ) has Academy @ Home, with live webcams that let you virtually frolic with the penguins, plunge into the Philippine Coral Reef, or marvel at the stormy Farallon Islands from afar; watch videos highlighting the latest discoveries and scientific breakthroughs; explore Flipside Science, an upbeat, engaging video series hosted by youth volunteers; try engaging, STEM-friendly activities; and much more.
Build a Creativity Toolbox
- Children’s Creativity Museum (San Francisco, California, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) explains how to build a Creativity Toolbox that will fuel hours of creative expression, innovation, and critical thinking.
At-Home Science Experiment Challenge
- In China, where some science centers are beginning to re-open, more than 100 institutions joined forces during closures to launch a do-at-home Science Experiment Challenge across the country from January 31 to February 14. Through the country’s WeChat social-media platform, people could emulate science-experiment videos or submit their own. ASTC members among the group of organizing science centers and museums included the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing, Guangdong Science Center in Guangzhou, and Shanghai Science & Technology Museum.
STEM Curriculum, Programming, Games and More
- Great Lakes Science Center (Cleveland, Ohio, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) is supporting families and educators with a new web-based series of STEM curriculum and programming. Every weekday, the science center will post new content to its YouTube channel, including experiments that can bed done at home, exclusive content filmed at the science center, quizzes, games, and more.
Science Demonstrations
- IMAG History & Science Center (Fort Myers, Florida, United States｜Facebook ) launched IMAG at Home, a daily schedule of science demonstrations, interviews, and fun, including a 9:00 p.m. show for adults only, “Beers and Gears.”
Yoga in the Galleries
- Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences (Children’s Museum & Science Center) (Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) shifted its popular Yoga in the Galleries program to an online position.
Home Experiments, Videos, Reading, Games and More
- MadaTech, The Israel National Museum of Science, Technology, & Space (Haifa, Israel｜Facebook｜Twitter ) has a collection at MadaTech Online, of home experiments, videos, further reading, games, and more for at-home or from-phone exploration.
MoMath Mini Camps
- National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) (New York, New York, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) is offering online sessions and events for children and adults of all ages, including MoMath Mini Camps.
Virtual Telescope Exploration
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Charlottesville, Virginia, and Magdalena, New Mexico, United States / Facebook / Twitter) is inviting the community to make a virtual outing to their Very Large Array telescopes, including a live webcam, an online video tour, and interactives to make your own multiwavelength images and radio astronomy array.
Understanding the Science of COVID-19
- Pacific Science Center (Seattle, Washington, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) created an Understanding COVID-19 page, with resources for understanding the disease and a March 24 livestream event with experts, and the institution also has Curiosity at Home, a collection of activity-related videos.
The Smithsonian Learning Lab
- Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) gives access to millions of digital resources from across the Smithsonian’s museums, research centers, libraries, archives, and more. The Smithsonian Learning Lab has pre-packaged collections that contain lessons, activities, and recommended resources made by Smithsonian educators as well as thousands of classroom teachers like you.
Turtle Bay TV
- Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding, California, United States｜Facebook｜Twitter ) offers Turtle Bay TV, with four channels for exploring animals, exhibitions, and gardens.
Museum Lesson Plans Curated by Wilkening Consulting
Thank you to Wilkening Consulting for curating this collection of resources. We're happy to share these additional fun learning opportunities below:
American History
- American Writers Museum
- Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (scroll down to "classroom resources")
- Historic New England
- Litchfield Historical Society
- Monticello (Thomas Jefferson)
- Mount Vernon (George Washington)
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- National Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution)
- National Park Service
- Newport Historical Society (RI)
- Ohio History Connection (searchable by grade; updated daily)
- Old Salem
- Smithsonian Institution
- Tenement Museum (searchable by grade)
- Virginia Museum of History and Culture
American Indian or Native American (museum or focus)
- Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum (Seminole)
- Arizona State Museum
- National Museum of the American Indian
Animals
- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
- San Diego Zoo
Art
- Akron Art Museum
- Denver Art Museum
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Kennedy Center
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Mississippi Museum of Art
- Primarily check out "teacher resources"
- App Archive & New Symphony in Time connect objects with audio/video
- MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
- Norman Rockwell Museum (grades K - 12)
- Relevant to American history too
- Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
- Wiregrass Museum of Art
Children's Museums/Early Childhood
- Glazer Children's Museum
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Kentucky Science Center and partners
- Kohl Children's Museum
General
- Massillon Museum (art + history)
- My Learning
- Tons of free learning resources from UK arts, cultural, and heritage organisations
- Sortable by "key stages" (higher number = higher grade)
- Ohio Museums Association
- Playground Games
- PBS KIDS Daily
- Smithsonian Institution
- Museum of Ventura County (California)
Literature (Children's in particular)
Natural History
- La Brea Tar Pits (paleontology)
- National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution)
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
- Natural History Museum of Utah
- Live online courses during school closures (starting Mar 17)
Nature
Science
- Association of Science and Technology Centers
- 4-H STEM Lab
- The Bakken
- Exploratorium
- Great Lakes Science Center
- Michigan Science Center
- National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian Institution)
- Pacific Science Center - Curiosity at Home
- Science Museum Group (UK)
Other Resources
Professional actors reading notable children's books
Source: Storyline Online
Stories, Videos and at Home Activities for Learning
Source: Scholastic Learn at Home
Inspire your students with videos, games and activities aligned to state and national standards
Source: PBS Learning Media
Original interactive activities, books, animated videos, games and creative lessons captivate children’s attention.
App-based
Source: Khan Academy Kids
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