Try learning something new, dive into a creative activity, or participate in a virtual event!
There are bountiful free books and materials you can access online! Check out the list of events below and also visit our Digital Services page, Children’s page, Teen page, and Museum page for more events and online happenings.
The center for the Book at the NH State Library is hosting a VIRTUAL poetry reading on November 7, 2021 for Covid Spring II. Details, including the registration link, are at: https://nhbookcenter.blogspot.com/2021/10/poetry-reading-on-november-7-2021.html
Boston Children’s Museum
Experience joyful discovery at home with online resources from Boston Children’s Museum! Though the Museum is closed, there are lots of opportunities for play and learning you can do at home. The museum also offers fun daily activities families and individuals can partake in!
31 Children’s Books to Support Conversations About Race, Racism, and Resistance
Acknowledging racism with children as early and often as possible can help counter racial bias, which research suggests can present in kids as young as three. Check out this list of children’s books here to support conversations about race, racism, and resistance.
Healthy Habits: Feelings Masks Activity
Feelings are complicated, and it can be difficult for kids to find the right words to express them. Facial expressions are so helpful for communicating our emotions, but when wearing a face mask, this isn’t always easy! In today’s video, Health and Wellness Educator Saki demonstrates a fun activity for kids to express emotions while get accustomed to wearing masks. Watch here.
Live From the Living Room Challenge
Join the #LiveFromTheLivingRoomChallenge and share a short and funny video to make someone laugh. Tell a joke, pull a (harmless) prank on your sibling, train your dog to chase his tail — get creative! Let’s work together to make the world smile. Share your video with #LiveFromTheLivingRoomChallenge to be featured on the page! The top ten videos will receive a $25 Amazon gift card.
Music and Movement with the Laurie Berkner Band
Take a music and movement break every morning at 10:00am with the Laurie Berkner Band! Laurie is hosting daily Berkner Breaks on her Facebook page featuring original music and dance. An added bonus: each of her livestreams benefits a different charitable organization.
Seacoast Science Center
The Seacoast Science Center is NOW open!
They will be opening for public visits on weekends, starting July 4th! Reservations to visit SSC are strongly encouraged, and reservations are required to enter OPSP. Click here for more information and to make reservations.
Marine Mammal of New England Webinars
Did you miss our History of Marine Mammals in New England or Great White Sharks and Seals in New England Webinar? No worries! You can watch them anytime by finding them on our YouTube Channel (be sure to subscribe!) or by clicking the links below. Special thanks go partner organizations National Marine Life Center, Tufts University, and Atlantic White Shark Conservancy for joining us and sharing their knowledge and expertise!
Facebook Live Fridays
Tune in to the Seacoast Science Center’s Facebook page at 11am every Friday learn about seacoast habitats, animals, and life.Post your questions during the livestream and they will get to as many as they can! Can’t watch live at that time? Facebook Live videos are automatically saved and posted shortly after the session ends so you can watch anytime.
Children’s Museum of NH
There are online events and activities for children based on various subjects, including: art, STEM, and nature. Click here to discover something new today!
Hoopla Events and Activities
Curate a film festival from home with hoopla Art House!
With the hoopla Art House film selections you can create your own film festival from the comfort of your home. Hoopla has a wide range of films including Documentaries, Modern Indies, Classics, and Global Cinema titles that have won awards at various film festivals and that have been a topic of discussion with fans and critics alike. Check out the Hoopla page for more information on how to access this digital resource and other fun activities.
Movies of the Month
Every month hoopla hand-picks a variety of films you will love.
Strawberry Banke Museum
The Strawberry Banke Museum is NOW open!
Please read Strawbery Banke Museum’s COVID-19 precautions prior to purchasing tickets. For COVID-19 precautions, additional tour information, and to purchase tickets please click here. Please note that, advanced ticket purchase for guided tours is strongly encouraged as dates/times may sell out in advance. Each guided tour is limited to 10 participants. Each person needs a separate ticket (including children under 5, who are admitted free). A self-guided tour option is available at the door only.
The re-imagined visitor experience at Strawbery Banke Museum allows visitors to experience four outdoor sites exploring the resiliency of the historic waterfront neighborhood throughout time. This daily, public program invites guests to experience their own recoveries from COVID-19 restrictions by recognizing the parallels between everyday life in the present and the past.
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
A set of materials that you may enjoy browsing and sharing with your colleagues or students – and encouraging students at home to create some mini-museum exhibitions. Poster exhibitions are free to download, and many come with supporting educational materials to help you quickly engage in investigation, reflection, and creativity.
Downloading our poster exhibitions is easy, follow these steps:
- Select any poster exhibition from the Poster Exhibitions page on our Community Portal
- On the poster exhibition details page, scroll down and select Request Poster Exhibition.
- Fill out the online form to provide your name, address, and other information. (If you’re a member of our portal and already logged in, you can skip this step!)
- Follow the on-screen instructions to review and agree to our usage terms, then select Download Poster Exhibition or Request Poster Exhibition. A download link will be provided on-screen and will also be emailed to you for future use.
NOTE: Some posters include an option to request the exhibition in printed format. In support of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, we are not shipping any printed posters at this time. To ensure immediate delivery of the digital files, be sure to select the “download” option. - Be patient – our digital poster files are large and may take a while to download! Files are provided in compressed (ZIP) format.
- After downloading, extract (un-zip) the file to access the digital poster files and associated support materials. (TIP: Most computer systems have ZIP extraction software built-in; double-clicking the ZIP file will probably extract it automatically!) All materials are provided in PDF format, for easy sharing and/or printing.
STEM Video Challenge
What better week to consider the unique gifts and roles that each species plays in our ecosystems? A rich variety of ecosystems abundant with a variety of species, or biodiversity, is a sign of health. You have likely seen evidence of unhealthy systems in which only a few hardy species can thrive. Spring is the perfect time to observe healthy, diverse habitats, many often humming with activity. If you are able, join our Earth Week BioBlitz challenge: upload your favorite species to our BioBlitz Storymap, and we will post our favorite pictures on SSC social media. Birds, mushrooms, insects, trees, plants, mammals, amphibians, invertebrates… your choice!
Virtual Walk: Colorful Journey with Sue Anne Bottomley
Sue was featured on the NH Chronicle show. She first appeared there back in 2012, describing her project of drawing something in every town in New Hampshire, then in progress. Since then those 234 drawings have found their way into a book, and three more books have followed.
Take a virtual walk with her on her Colorful Journey. Don’t miss it. It will also be available online the next day at the WMUR website.
Link to their preview: www.wmur.com/article/
More details: www.colorfuljourney.art.
Health Programming for Summer Reading
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has partnered with the Collaborative Summer Library Program to bring health programming to for Summer Reading!
Making Playdough
Make play dough at home with Laura; incorporating materials from nature in honor of Earth Week. This is a fun, sensory activity to do in the kitchen with kids using simple household ingredients! Click here to try it out
Composting
The process of decomposing organic matter like certain food leftovers into nutrient-rich soil. This soil can be used to grow healthy plants that don’t need chemical fertilizers, which are harmful to the environment. It doesn’t take much to start composting at your own house. In honor of Earth Day, Alissa is going to show you how it’s done! Click here to find out how.
Nature and Art
Faith is showing us how to do rubbings using natural materials like leaves and bark. Click here to view video.
Healthy Habits Friday
On Healthy Habits Friday, there is a celebration of cooking while engaging and involving younger children with ideas for cooking nutritious meals. Check out this resource from NAEYC on supporting the learning that can happen in your kitchen and beyond….more!
Marsha and the Positrons
Every Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm, Marsha from Marsha and the Positrons is live streaming a free music and movement class right to your living room! Each week has a different theme and tomorrow’s is Health and Wellness. Click here to catch it on Facebook Live.