DIY kids activities to do at home, suggested by Philly museums and youth organizations

Philly is home to a plethora of youth educational programs, organizations and renowned museums. But, what if you want to bring their lessons to your child at home? Well, they offer at-home activities too.

The Inquirer spoke with the Academy of Natural Sciences, Free Library of Philadelphia and the Yes! And... Collaborative Arts to see how parents can bring some of their magic back home.

Working this kind of learning and play into your family schedule can bring benefits to your child for years down the road, according to the educators interviewed for this article. They suggest always keeping activities open-ended and letting the kids lead where the activity goes. This means there shouldn’t really be an end goal when exploring the sciences and arts with children. Don’t be afraid to go down tangents during discussions and let imaginations run wild even if it doesn’t make logical sense. It’s all about creating a safe space and giving kids the autonomy to learn — adults are just there to participate and guide when needed.

And fun and educational activities don’t have to be expensive. All three of these institutions offer free downloadable activities online.

If you’re at home and looking for stuff to do with kids, check out these resources from Philly organizations and museums.

Talking about science can be fun and engaging because it’s something that intersects with day-to-day life. According to the Academy of Natural Sciences youth and family program director Mary Bailey, having conversations around science can be easy for parents too because it’s as simple as being open to asking, “What if?” about everyday topics.

“Kids learn the scientific method in school from a very young age,” Bailey said. “Even if they don’t know that what they’re doing is science or the scientific method, you can talk about anything with them and keep asking questions, ‘What do you observe?’ or ‘What do you think might happen?’”

If you’re looking for science and nature activities to do at home with kids, look no further than the Academy of Natural Science’s online “Science from Home” activity guide. Here you will find dozens of activities to learn, create and have discussions with instructions and guided dialogue scripts.

To check out and download activity guides, visit ansp.org/exhibits/science-from-home.

Preparing kids for their future is easier when they have an understanding of arts, history, and culture at a young age. Families looking to engage in a variety of topics — history, science, technology, arts and literature — should check out The Free Library of Philadelphia’s free reading challenge rewards program and their activity guides for kids to do at home. Both will provide families with enough to do an entire summer.

This online platform and mobile app is provided through the Library and is home to monthly, seasonal and yearly reading challenges — like 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten or Black History Month — with new challenges being added periodically. Besides reading books, challenges include watching videos about historical figures, learning about how the city works, and reading articles about the challenge topic.

It’s free to join and parents can easily sign up and navigate one account with the ability to set up profiles for their kids to keep track of reading at freelibrary.beanstack.org. You can also download the mobile app for iPhone and Android.

Summertime is packed with fun, but what if you sprinkle a little learning in between? Reading Champs is a free library program geared toward encouraging kids to read, learn and engage in educational activities during the summer break. However, the activities are available for download all year long.

Categorized by No Stuff Needed, Stuff Needed, Strictly Outdoors and more, there’s bound to be an activity that works for you — from Freeze Dancy Party and creating your own biographies to Philly Celebrity charade and inventing your own sport.

Check out all that Reading Champs has to offer at readingchamps.org.

Yes! And... Collaborative Arts (YACA), a youth arts organization in Germantown, takes its organizational name to heart. In improvisational theater, performers make up the story as they go along requiring other performers to continue the flow of the performance — this mentality is called “Yes, and...”

“This way of thinking really helps kids to understand the concept that our stories can be so much bigger and more interesting when we say, ‘Yes,’ to each other’s ideas, but then we also get to add our own unique voice to it,” said YACA’s executive director, Christine Herrman.

This collaboration between kids fosters skills that they will use throughout their lifetime. Fortunately, Yes And has an entire YouTube playlist full of instructional activity videos for kids to do at home — almost 50 videos. Through these activity guides, kids will create their own family crest, draw a map of their own medieval quest, and so much more. Each video comes with a list of materials needed and the intended age for the activity.

You can watch all these videos on YouTube at youtube.com/@YesAndCAMP. Check out the Yes! And... Anytime Art Grind playlist.