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Ways to explore your City from home

In such peculiar times, we’re all looking for things to keep us engaged. The good news is that now more than ever, there are many free virtual activities online. Whether you’re looking for activities to keep the kids busy, or just want to learn something new, there are options for you.

For starters, head on over to the Seattle Parks and Recreation YouTube Channel to see a great collection of fun videos including senior activities, cooking, dance, learning about nature and more. Here’s a fun video of Parks and Recreation employee Savannah showing you how to easily craft a tote out of an old shirt.

Where to start with King County Library Online Resources Archive?! There’s an enormous amount of content for all ages. For instance, this great read aloud story time: Here We Are, by Olivia Jeffers.

Museums

Museum of Flight Virtual Tours

The Boing Museum of Flight hosts virtual tours of many famous aircraft. Enjoy 360-degree panoramas and VR tours.  

Burke Museum

The Burke Museum has launched #BurkeFromHome, with offerings including virtual tours, art projects and emailed learning packets.

Seattle Art Museum, Stay Home With SAM

The Seattle Art Museum hosts a variety of unique content that will keep you stimulated for hours, including galleries of classic artist sketches from Georgia O’Keeffe, art-making activities and art talks on fantastic pieces showcased at SAM.

Kids

Pacific Science Center Curiosity at Home

The Pacific Science Center has a fabulous array of home activities including streaming live science shows, hands-on STEM activities, tutorials, interviews, and more. These educational activities and resources are for all ages and are meant to inspire and excite people about science.

Woodland Park Zoo YouTube Channel

Keep up with Woodland Park Zoo’s gorilla mom Uzumma and her new baby boy by checking the zoo’s blog. Woodland Park Zoo’s YouTube channel is also full of cuteness and great learning opportunities!

Seattle Aquarium, Experience the Aquarium from Anywhere

From virtual tours to activities for kids to live streaming cams, you can enjoy the Seattle Aquarium from anywhere.

Seattle’s Child “9 at Home” Kids Activities

Check out this list of 9 easy ways to keep your child entertained. You’ll find experiments, games and quiet activities when you need some fresh ideas for fun.

Also from Seattle’s Child: cooped up at home with a preschooler and wondering how to provide some meaningful learning for them? This great read, 4 Ways to Guide Your Preschooler’s Home Learning, offers quick and easy suggestions for taking the Montessori approach to preschool education.

Parent Map’s 8 Super Cheap and Easy Ways to Keep Kids Learning

Parenting in the time of the coronavirus? Check out Parent Map’s 8 super-cheap, super-easy ways to keep kids learning at home.

Parent Map’s 18 Teacher Picks for Free Online Learning Sites

With schools closed, parents are trying to find ways to keep children educationally engaged. Instead of doing the heavy lifting to maintain learning gains, leverage a free online learning system. Check out this list of 18 free online learning resources, selected by teachers!

Tours

Seattle Japanese Garden Virtual Tour

Tour Seattle’s Japanese Garden – even though it’s currently closed! We used the Google Trekker camera to walk through the entire garden a while back. Just click along the paths in the direction you want to go, similar to moving along streets in Google maps. You’ll see most of the garden this way.

Seattle Parks and Recreation Virtual Park Tours

Enjoy virtual tours for more than 10 Seattle parks through Google Maps, using the Trekker Camera.

Waterfront Virtual Experience

Immerse yourself in the future Waterfront Park with 360-degree virtual views of seven locations along Seattle’s waterfront.

Senior Activities and Fitness

Silver Kite Virtual Activities

In partnership with Seattle Public Library, Silver Kite is offering plenty of free virtual activity classes friendly to 50+. Topics include painting, journaling, dance, storytelling, and poetry to name just a few.

Seattle Parks and Recreation Lifelong Recreation Exercise/Fitness classes

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Lifelong Recreation team put together some excellent at home exercise/fitness videos for all kinds of activities, including line dancing, yoga, pilates, tai chi, circuit training and more!

Silver and Fit Facebook Virtual Workouts

Silver and Fit’s Facebook page is hosting daily virtual workouts. Head to their Facebook page for details on watching live daily, or if you miss a live session you can watch on Silver and Fit’s YouTube channel.

Other

#SupportSeattleSmallBizMap

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan recently announced the City of Seattle’s new #SupportSeattleSmallBiz map, which helps residents find small businesses providing takeout or delivery in their neighborhood. Users can search for open small businesses in their neighborhood and navigate directly to a business’ website or third-party delivery service page.

Birding While Practicing Social Distancing

Audubon.org showcases how birding or bird watching is a great activity to do while practicing social distancing. You can also see Naturalist Ed Dominguez describe the basics of backyard birding here.

Seattle Symphony Broadcasts

With live music venues closed, Seattle Symphony has been sharing wonderful content to keep our spirits up! Check out their site and Seattle Symphony Facebook page for details on upcoming live broadcasts of past concerts.