Virtual recreation activities offered by Palmdale

PALMDALE – The City of Palmdale’s Parks and Recreation staff has compiled a list of virtual recreation ideas for residents to help make this time of social distancing productive and interesting for the whole family during the current “Safer at Home” order.

Activities with links to the websites are listed here. Some of the recreation ideas include:

Chalk Your Walk

Draw or write encouraging messages on your driveway or sidewalk with chalk. Then take a walk and look for other prints and messages written by your neighbors.

Wow! Children’s Museum

• Visit the museum online

Amazing Virtual Museum Tours

• • Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery
  • Natural History Museum London, Hintze Hall
  • The Louvre
  • California Missions Foundation
  • The British Museum
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The Museum of Natural Sciences
  • The National Museum of Computing
  • The VR Museum of Fine Art
  • The Frida Kahlo Museum – virtual tour of La Casa Azul.

Science Fun

• Monterey Bay Aquarium -The aquarium has ten live cams to choose from.
  • Aviary Cam  – Peek into the aviary for an adventure in birdwatching.
  • Coral Reef Cam – Follow busy tropical fishes in ¡Viva Baja!
  • Jelly Cam – See breathtaking sea nettles drift and pulse.
  • Kelp Forest Cam – See sardines swirl and leopard sharks glide through gently swaying kelp canopies.
  • Monterey Bay Cam – Look for otters, birds and sailboats on Monterey Bay.
  • Moon Jelly Cam – Be hypnotized by gorgeous flowing moon jellies.
  • Open Sea Cam – view open-ocean animals, from tuna to turtles, sharks and sardines.
  • Penguin Cam – see African penguins waddle and nest.
  • Sea Otter Cam – Enjoy sea otters as they frolic and swim.
  • Shark Cam – See sharks and fishes glide in the Monterey Bay Habitats exhibit.

Free Art Lessons for Kids and Adults

• • The Art Sherpa offers over 1,000 different videos to follow along and create gorgeous acrylic artwork.
  • PopArtDoodle featuring 3-minute videos for little artists.
  • FaceDrawer helps kids create their own artwork using their favorite cartoon characters.
  • Katie Jobling offers amazing art tutorials for grown-ups.
  • Art for Kids Hub features quick and easy art lessons for kids.
  • Angela Anderson features amazing art lessons for everything from kid paintings to farmhouse inspired artwork.
  • Alfonso Dunn teaches how to create gorgeous works of art using pen and pencil.
  • Circle Line Art School is best for seasoned artists or older kids who have the basics down.
  • Drawing3DArt is for budding artists looking for a challenge.
  • Rapid Fire Art – Learn how to improve facial expressions, shadings and more.
  • Art a la Carte – Learn how to create calligraphy with crayons, make your own stickers, and so much more.
  • MyHowToDraw’s quick and easy tutorials of how to draw everything from Justin Bieber to Peppa Pig.

Online Story Time for Kids and Adults

• • MouseCircus.com – the official Neil Gaiman website where young readers can listen to his best-selling The Graveyard Book and Coraline on video, play free online games, and download fun activities.
  • Storyline Online is SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website featuring children’s favorite books narrated by the likes of Kevin Costner and Sarah Silverman.
  • Free Children’s Stories is always free to read, offers a variety of stories by age, as well as stories in Spanish for kids.
  • NeilGaiman.com – head over for intellectual stimulation for adults where you’ll find tons of cool stuff to download, read and listen to, including short stories such as the Hugo Award-nominated How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

Free Space Projects for Kids and Adults Stuck at Home

• • Spot the Station is a tracking tool that allows you to look up your location from anywhere on earth, and find out when, where and how you can see the International Space Station pass overhead.
  • NASA Science Space Place features lots of hands-on activities for kids.
  • NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Teachable Moments for students.

Catch a Virtual Concert

• • Billboard and NPR are keeping updated lists of online concerts, who’s playing, and where you can watch.

“Because recreation activities are such an important quality of life component in Palmdale, we wanted to continue to provide residents with an outlet and resources to explore different virtual and online activities from home,” said Palmdale Mayor Steve Hofbauer.

“As part of our Palmdale Cares initiative, the Virtual Recreation resource is designed to help our residents through the current situation with helpful and creative activities for everyone to enjoy,” said Palmdale City Manager J.J. Murphy.

For more information on what Palmdale is doing during the coronavirus pandemic and for a list of helpful resources, visit www.CityofPalmdale.org/coronavirus.

[Information via news release from the city of Palmdale.]

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