Stimulating Minds: Stay Curious at Home with Help from San Antonio’s Kid-Friendly Museums

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Keeping kids occupied after finishing the day’s schoolwork can present challenges in the stay-at-home environment. Luckily, a couple of San Antonio’s kid-friendly museums have created online outlets for curiosity and wonder beyond school hours. Those offerings provide hands-on activities and virtual learning experiences sure to keep young minds engaged.

Witte Museum
Just because the doors are closed, doesn’t mean you can’t “Witte Where You Are.” The museum’s new YouTube series provides interactive virtual learning opportunities for kids and family alike. Set in the backyard of the museum, the Witte team hosts engaging videos to follow along with at home. Viewers get a chance to be “backyard scientists” and “history detectives.” The Witte’s videos include, “Ropes and Brands,” a history of ropes and branding methods used by South Texas cowboys, and “Bird Watching,” which has tips for seeking out birds, animals and insects native to the region. For aspiring meteorologists, Witte S.T.E.M. Manager Sarah Rowley set up a weather station to demonstrate the tools scientists use to track the weather. She even shows viewers how to make their very own backyard weather stations. wittemuseum.org/witte-where-you-are.

The DoSeum
The DoSeum’s staunch commitment to inspiring the joy of learning isn’t taking a backseat to coronavirus-induced closures. The museum’s newly updated DO It At Home webpage gives kids and families hands-on learning experiences to keep minds active and curious. The site offers do-it-yourself activities, virtual storytelling, science-based Q&A videos and health and wellness readings. One such DIY project gives kids a way to explore storytelling abilities with a downloadable “Create a Comic Book” template. Online story readings include books such as Little Roja Riding Hood, a bilingual update to the familiar fairytale. thedoseum.org/do-it-at-home.

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