Bored kids? California Academy of Sciences has ideas!

A year into the pandemic, it’s more challenging than ever to keep kids learning and entertained. While the Academy is still closed (but hopefully reopening soon!), here are some FREE activities for kids to enjoy.

For the crafty-minded:

Check out the Academy’s new Science @ Home activity packs. They’re geared to ages 4-11 and chock-full of guided videos, hands-on crafts, and real experiments that explore swamps, stars, penguins, butterflies, coral reefs, and more. All can be done with materials found at home. New packs released every month!

See the stars from home.

While the Academy’s Morrison Planetarium is temporarily closed, they are taking its newest planetarium show, Big Astronomy, online. Join on YouTube for weekly 360˚-livestreams and journey to three world-class observatories in Chile. Along the way, meet the astronomers, engineers, technicians, and support staff who keep everything running.

Tune into Breakfast Club

The Academy's live streamed mini classes with Academy experts and beyond. Just now joining the club? Find all past and future episodes (from gems and antlers to scientific illustration).

Fall in love with a penguin.

The penguin cams are running 24/7, but February is a special month for the Academy’s tuxedo-clad friends. Around Valentine’s Day, Academy biologists hand out paper hearts to the birds, which they share with each other and take back to their nests, and talk about all the habits of these fascinating creatures. Watch the cuteness here.