New website dedicated to offering educational activities for children while schools are closed amid Michigan coronavirus outbreak
Kids home from school? Explore online courses, videos and materials that help make learning fun for parents and children, while schools are closed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March, 16th 2020
Dusty Welsh, Executive Director Discovery Center of Macomb
(248) 632-7572 discoverymacomb@gmail.com
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A new website launched over the weekend is dedicated to informing Michigan parents about online resources and activities to keep kids busy amid the coronavirus outbreak. It comes as Gov. Whitmer announced school closures across Michigan starting March 16th.
As schools and children’s museums across the country close their doors, educators and curators alike are asking themselves, “How can we bring our educational services, and museum experiences online, in order to continue serving our guests?”
The website, called the Discovery Outpost (www.DiscoveryMacomb.org/outpost) is published by The Discovery Center of Macomb children’s museum, scheduled to open in downtown Mount Clemens, Michigan summer of 2020.
“With our doors closed at the moment, and with construction on our new museum halted due to COVID-19, our team asked what we could do right now to help parents, students, and educators during this difficult time,” says Dusty Welsh, Director of The Discovery Center. “Hosting an online hub where museums like ours, and educators from across the state, could come to post fun and educational digital content to keep kids busy learning, seemed to offer the most positive immediate impact,“says Welsh.
The new online-hub will provide free access and links to fun and educational content provided by museums and educational organizations across the state such as videos, webinars and programs, games and interactive apps, DIY home science projects, and more.
For museum curators or educators who would like to add their digital content to the list for free, all you have to do is contact the Discovery Center to see your materials shared state-wide.
Check out these online courses, videos and materials so your family can keep learning while schools are closed!
Educational Videos
Watch a variety of educational videos recommended by our educational partners.
Lesson Plans & Courses
Check out a variety of online distance learning options for children of all ages.
DIY Home Activities
Browse fun ideas for at home activities you can do with the kids while school’s closed.
Partner Content Links
Browse a collection of links provided by our Michigan-based partners.
Since 2004, PNC Grow Up Great® has been helping children from birth through age five develop a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime. PNC Grow Up Great offers free resources to help with the continuity of learning while young children are home. Additionally, there are new tools, developed by Sesame Workshop and Fred Rogers Productions, to help parents address children’s fears and anxieties. We encourage you to share these valuable resources with parents across the community.
Even when schools are closed, you can keep the learning going with these special cross-curricular journeys. Every day includes four separate learning experiences, each built around a thrilling, meaningful story or video. Kids can do them on their own, with their families, or with their teachers. Just find your grade level and let the learning begin!
Watch Peregrine falcons nesting on iconic water tower at Detroit Zoo. A rare cliff-nesting bird species has taken up residence on the water tower at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak. One of the most visible landmarks in the region, the tower is once again home to a pair of peregrine falcons. The RVA Osprey Cam is back! The osprey (Pandion haliaetus)—also called fish eagle, sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk—is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings.
The Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio presents “Home Safari” Facebook live video series featuring 3-year-old Fiona the hippo. The livestream includes fun activities for children staying home from school.
Explore the collection of wildlife webcams featuring elephants, bald eagles, lions, birds, and other wild animals from across the globe.
Friends of Big Bear Valley, a nonprofit organization that helps preserve and protect the valley in San Bernardino National Forest, Southern California, has live camera footage of a bald eagle nest.
Watch the Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam or the LIVE Bald Eagle Nest Cam provided by the American Eagle Foundation (watch 2 BABY CHICKS in the nest right now!)
The Smithsonian National Zoo, located in Washington D.C., provides 24/7 webcam streams for naked mole rats, giant pandas, lions, elephants, and more!
Naked mole-rats live underground and are the only true eusocial mammals, spending their lives in large colonies with a single breeding female. Watch as the Zoo’s colony eats, sleeps and explores its brand new habitat, which features 16 chambers and nearly 25 feet of winding tunnels to patrol. Have a question about what’s happening on the webcam? Check out the Naked Mole-rat Cam FAQs!
Tune in to the Houston Zoo Webcams and enjoy a live look at animals that call the Houston Zoo home! See the herd of Asian elephants wander through their enormous habitat. Watch as giraffes nibble lettuce fed to them by guests at the feeding platform; you could join them on your next visit. See the rhinos roll in their mud puddle or the flamingos float next to a waterfall. See the chimpanzees interact with guests at their window or snooze in a hammock.
YouTube Kids was created to give kids a more contained environment that makes it simpler and more fun for them to explore on their own, and easier for parents and caregivers to guide their journey as they discover new and exciting interests along the way.
Watch Koalas, apes, monkey and penguins from the San Diego Zoo’s many wildlife webcams. Check out the Tiger cam often, because you never know when this magnificent animal may appear.
Watch Koalas, apes, monkey and penguins from the San Diego Zoo’s many wildlife webcams. Check out the Tiger cam often, because you never know when this magnificent animal may appear.
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition. The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world’s cultures. Here you can explore some of the iconic features of the Museum!
These virtual tours allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop of mobile device. Visitors can also access select research and collections areas at our satellite support and research stations and past exhibits no longer on display. Many of the tours provide a view of previously unseen archives or holdings.
The Mission of the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is to create moments of discovery that inspire curiosity, exploration and respect for STEM and the natural world. Our Vision is a world where curiosity today leads to more purposeful lives tomorrow.
On this site, you will find games of various skill levels for children pre-K through grade 4. These games support national education standards in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. NASA encourages you to visit NASA Kids’ Club and use its games and activities to inspire the next generation.
Welcome – Earth seen from space courtesy of the NASA live streams aboard the ISS. This ISS live stream of planet earth from space is courtesy of Nasa Earth Viewing Cameras aboard the international space station.
Videos featuring awesome animals, cool science, funny pets, and more, are made just for curious kids like you. So pick a topic you love and start watching today! Visit the National Geographic Kids website for more games, photos, and videos at www.natgeokids.com. Watch more National Geographic Kids videos at www.natgeokids.com/video
Virtual learning helps you maintain engagement and continuity of learning outside of the classroom with tools that allow you to still communicate with your students, facilitate group activities, provide feedback, track student progress, and create a lasting educational impact.
Tune in at 2:30 pm daily for live science experiments hosted on the Michigan Science Center Facebook live feed.
Kids home from school? Explore online courses, videos, and materials so your children can keep learning while schools are closed.
As schools and children’s museums across the country close their doors, educators and museum curators are asking themselves, “How can we bring our materials, educational services, and museum experiences online, in order to continue engaging our guests?” Over the next month, (or possibly longer), many children and parents alike will be seeking stay-at-home activities to pass the time, and to provide entertainment and stimulus for their children while schools are closed.
In response to this developing need in our community, The Discovery Center is announcing THE DISCOVERY OUTPOST online-hub hosted on our website which will provide access and links to fun and educational partner content such as:
- Videos, webinars and programs
- Games and interactive apps
- DIY home science projects
- and more…
Explore Educational Videos, Content and Activities for Children
The Discovery Center children’s museum of Macomb County, Michigan is bringing together your favorite educational destinations from across the state and country, in an online format. We’ve asked our partners, local educational providers, and Michigan museums to share their distance learning materials right here, in one convenient place for parents. This online hub will provide at-home activities for children K-6 during the state-wide school closures caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Distance Learning Materials For Kids, Parents & Educators During COVID-19 School Closures
Kids home from school? Explore online courses, videos, and materials so your children can keep learning while schools are closed.
As schools and children’s museums across the country close their doors, educators and museum curators in Michigan are asking themselves, “How can we bring our educational services, and museum experiences online, in order to continue serving our guests?”
Over the next month, (or possibly longer), many children and parents alike will be seeking stay-at-home activities to pass the time, and to provide entertainment and stimulus for their families while schools and many businesses are closed.
In response to this developing need in our community, The Discovery Center is announcing an online-hub hosted right here on our website to provide access and links to fun and educational partner content such as: Videos, webinars and programs; Games and interactive apps; DIY home science projects, and more.
Science, Art & Literacy Resources For Educators
The Outpost will act as a hub for STEAM-based resources optimized for grades K-6 in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
Free Distance Learning Resource for Michigan
This outpost is being provided for free to parents, educators, and children across the state of Michigan. The goal of this website is to provide access to a variety of distance-learning activities through April, 20202, or for as long as Michigan schools are shuttered.
The Discovery Center of Macomb does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or security of partner links provided on this website. Use discretion when browsing the 3rd-party online content, videos, and links provided here.
