We know it’s easy to get crazy overwhelmed by all of the internet resources out there. We’ve been sharing many of them through our Facebook page. We’re going to use this space to curate a list of valuable links for you to refer back to. We’ll be attempting to keep it updated regularly. You could bookmark this page and return often to see what’s new.
New Groups on the Bancroft Library Facebook Page! Please join in!
Just for fun!
- The Facebook group “518 Rainbow Hunt” is a source of positivity and a fun activity to occupy some time : “A great fun way to be with family, get outdoors and be socially distant during this 2020 COVID19 Outbreak. 🌈 If you have a Rainbow in your window, snap a photo and tag the street/area/neighborhood AND The town you’re in so those near you can go for a walk and hunt for your rainbow! (Avoid posting your house number so it’s a real 👀HUNT!)”
- Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
- Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibit at the British Library
For kids and families:
- SALS e-Resources page for Families and Youth (includes access to free e-books!)
- Coronavirus informational coloring book from St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
- How Kids’ Lit is Responding to the Coronavirus (a long list of digital resources from children’s book authors and publishers)
- On Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library YouTube Channel, families can watch Dolly read a new bedtime story each Thursday night at 7:00.
- Dav Pilkey at Home: a partnership between children’s book author Dav Pilkey, the Library of Congress, and Scholastic to share a collection of fun activities and videos each Friday.
- PBS Parents is a wonderful resource of activities for kids, articles for parents, and a daily newsletter you can sign up for with “activities and tips to keep your child playing and learning even when school is closed”.
- PBS Learning Media: FREE resource for PreK-12 educators and families.
- Khan Academy schedules for students and the main Khan Academy site (vast amounts of online learning resources, for all ages)
- Girls Who Code: Code at Home
- Ranger Rick is offering free digital access to their magazines!
- Play and learn with Space Racers! https://www.spaceracers.com/
- NASA shares lots of educational and fun resources on their Teachable Moments site: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teachable-moments/
- All sorts of fun science lessons on the Mystery Science site! https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning
- Cool Kitchen Pantry Science Experiments from Storey Publishers
- Two articles from Book List Reader about creating makerspaces at home: https://www.booklistreader.com/2020/03/18/books-and-authors/creating-makerspaces-at-home/ and https://www.booklistreader.com/2020/03/20/books-and-authors/creating-makerspaces-at-home-part-ii/
- Lunch Doodles with children’s author Mo Willems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzjCPQv3y8
- Cool School educational videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/coolschool/videos
- Complete Schoolhouse Rock series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0KiZzoWB0Wdq3xiTQzmFlw
- The Homework Spot Resources for Parents and Children: http://www.homeworkspot.com/
- PBS Kids Educational Videos and Games: https://pbskids.org/
- National Geographic for Kids: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
- Discovery Education for Children: https://www.discoveryeducation.com/
- FunBrain math and reading video games: https://www.funbrain.com/
- Homework Help: https://www.infoplease.com/homework
Virtual tours:
- The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections
- Virtual Visit of Blarney Castle: https://www.virtualvisittours.com/blarney-castle/
- Virtual Visit of five of the National Parks: https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/…/national-parks-serv…
- Live Opera Stream from the Met each night: https://www.metopera.org/
- Live Cam from the Monterey Bay Aquarium:
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams - Virtual Tour of the Guggenheim:
https://artsandculture.google.com/…/solomon…/jAHfbv3JGM2KaQ… - Tours of Renowned spots around the world:
https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview… - National Museum of Natural History Virtual exhibits:
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/…/virtual-to…/current-exhibits - San Diego Zoo live streams:
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams - Virtual walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens:
https://www.google.com/…/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPmLp2CCL… - Space Center Houston Educational App:
https://spacecenter.org/app/ - Museum of Modern Art Library of Photos: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/sophie-taeuber-arp/swKioHNhYqZoLw?fbclid=IwAR0bscBFdp-yfUbJfshGnDO-_xDwLIeOoBHfZsZRIybWd9CWgVg12ftvDK4
- British Museum in London interactive tours: https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
- Tour the Louvre in Paris, France: https://www.youvisit.com/tour/louvremuseum
Other learning opportunities:
- 25 Sources of Free Public Domain Books
- Nobel Prize Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/user/thenobelprize/videos
- Ted Talks: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector/videos
- Build new skills by taking one of Coursera’s free classes: https://www.coursera.org/
- Stay active by taking a free fitness class from home: https://www.youtube.com/user/popsugartvfit/videos
- Feeling Stressed? Take an at-home yoga class with Adriene: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene/videos
- Learn a brand new skill: https://www.instructables.com/classes/