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Virtual Activities for Families Last Updated: March 2021

As the weeks of keeping our families safe at home continue, parents are looking for virtual activities to engage, teach, and add some structure to their kids’ day. 

Many popular Connecticut attractions are now offering a wide array of virtual experiences from live animal webcams, to arts and crafts classes, science demonstrations, yoga classes for kids and nightly bedtime story readings. Enjoy these as a family, or grab a little time away without feeling guilty about your kids’ screen time.

Due to the rapidly evolving situation, we encourage you to check back frequently for updates to this list and to verify offering details with individual properties.  

NOTE: This is not a complete list of all available offerings.

**If you are the manager of an attraction that you think should be on this list, please contact the Connecticut Office of Tourism.

Animal Adventures

  • The Children’s Museum in West Hartford has online programming, demonstrations, and packages available to schools and families.
  • Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport is running a live "zoo cam" of their Red Panda as well as a Facebook Live every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 2 p.m. which will feature different zoo animals. They are also offering a Distance Learning Programming for students to do while at home. Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo also just launched an interactive campaign called "Do You Have a Zoo at Your House?" which encourages children to write letters to the animals and zookeepers and send drawings and photos of how they've turned their house into a zoo.
  • Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center is running a Facebook Live series featuring various animals on Tue., Wed., and Thu. at 10 a.m.
  • Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation and Education Center in Ashford, which specializes in raptors and large corvids (such as crows and ravens), is offering free live educational videos with resident birds on their Facebook page.
  • Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk is bringing the marine life right to you with virtual events, videos, and interactive social-media experiences to keep you up-to-date on Aquarium happenings. This will include a live Q&A session every day at 3 p.m. on Facebook during animal feedings.
  • Meigs Point Nature Center in Madison is offering a fun virtual segment in which Ranger Russ will go live each day on Facebook to show off different animals at the center.
  • Mystic Aquarium in Mystic has a great list of virtual experiences including a Live Penguin Feed that brings the beloved penguins right to your computer screen, as well as live demonstrations on their Facebook page.

Arts & Theater

  • Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry in Storrs is offering virtual puppet-making workshops, which are perfect for young kids.
  • Cheshire Public Library is hosting at-home activities that are designed to help promote creativity, improve social skills, and provide academic support for children.
  • Cuatro Puntos offering Bones n' Dolls: an animated concert for children. A 20-minute concert for children combines animated characters with real musicians. Join Ms. Elinor's music class as they adventure to the fair, through a graveyard, and across the world to explore different types of music for string instruments.
  • Elm Shakespeare Company based out of New Haven is offering an at-home activity related to the arts each week, as well as recordings of past productions to watch online.
  • Pantochino Productions based out of Milford has an online series for family audiences, Let's Learn Stuff their Facebook page. The show is a hodge-podge of unusual knowledge, arts and crafts, stories, and more.
  • Shubert Theater in New Haven is staying connected with you by offering for kids of all ages, activities to create art at home with a backstage tour, Pinkalicious storytime, a playwriting challenge, and learn how to make puppets and a puppet theater.
  • Printable coloring pages are available featuring some of Connecticut's most famous attractions.

Educational Activities

  • Connecticut Science Center in Hartford offers Science at Home featuring STEM challenges, Lunch Brunch, Science at Play, and more.
  • Fairfield Museum in Fairfield is offering a variety of online content including virtual tours.
  • Guilford Free Library is hosting a scavenger history hunt. The Hunt will take you around the town of Guildford (while you practice safe social distancing) to discover the town’s treasures. A checklist and descriptions including photos, addresses, and audio recordings are included. School children who wish to participate in a quiz can submit their answers by June 15.  Three winners, randomly selected from the correct entries, will receive a prize.
  • Gunn Memorial Library & Museum in Washington is currently offering virtual monthly events designed for children, along with virtual storytelling on Zoom.
  • Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden is offering educational opportunities that include sing-alongs, read alongs while making meaningful connections, fun at-home activities, gardening activities, storytime, and more.
  • Imagine Nation in Bristol has created an At Home community via Facebook, where members are able to participate in playful learning activities while staying home simply by following the Facebook page.
  • KidsPlay Children’s Museum in Torrington is providing an online Playful Learning Toolkit featuring interactive play activities.
  • Lake Compounce in Bristol is making sure kids are having fun at home with their online Activity Book.
  • Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury has set up The MATT @ Home, a dedicated page on the museum's website with content and activities which include online exhibitions as well as educational worksheets and coloring pages for families.
  • MyConnecticutKids.com, Statewide is offering children's activities through its Facebook page. Activities include live Q&A sessions, coloring images to print, and object collecting. Additionally, it is providing online educational resources for kids at home via its website.
  • Mystified Escape Rooms in Mystic is offering a Family Frolic Special CAR EDITION Scavenger Hunt around downtown Mystic. They can be completed from the car, but also offers opportunities to visit local trails and open spaces. Purchase online and print at home.
  • Quassy Amusement & Waterpark in Middlebury is providing stay-at-home projects for kids, including a crossword puzzle, math problems, a worksheet on how to design an amusement ride, a Quassy coloring book and more.
  • Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk offers a variety of Virtual Learning Experiences for all ages.
  • Wallingford Public Library is offering virtual experiences at home for all ages including storytime, Teen Cuisine, Take Home Kids' Kits and more.

Virtual Storytime

  • Berlin-Peck Memorial Library in Berlin is offering virtual live storytimes on their Facebook page, along with Grab & Go Kits for children.
  • Bethel Public Library has storytime on Mondays through Fridays at 10 a.m. Enjoy storytime through Facebook Live with songs, stories, and simple games.
  • Cheshire Public Library has virtual storytime Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10 a.m.
  • Danbury Public Library offers Seuss on the Loose on Mondays at 2 p.m., celebrate all things, Dr. Seuss, and other great virtual programs for children including nature programs and Kids in the Kitchen.
  • Essex Library Association has virtual storytime for children ages 3-6 on Thursdays at 10 a.m.
  • Explorewashingtonct.com is hosting a virtual storytime for children ages 2-5 every Saturday at noon via Instagram.
  • Meriden Public Library is hosting storytime with books and songs geared toward children from third grade and under on their Facebook page. The library also provides adult programs, including virtual discussions using Zoom and a book club.
  • North Branch Bridgeport Public Library has a series of videos with Miss Bina, which involve story readings and more.
  • Portland Library is hosting online storytime on Tuesdays.
  • Scoville Library in Salisbury offers on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Zoom Storytime with Miss Moley. Learn and have fun through stories, interactive songs, and rhymes. sing, talk, read!
  • Stonington Free Library in Stonington is streaming a storytime on Mondays.
  • Wallingford Public Library is hosting Storytime Songs & Rhymes videos.
  • Westport Country Playhouse offers a Story Hour with Jenny, interactive readings of social justice-themed picture books for kids in grades K–3. These books center around the four pillars of our education department, empathy, collaboration, activism, and literacy, and are all written and illustrated by BIPOC artists.
  • Westport Library is offering various virtual storytimes including Chapter-a-Day Harry Potter and virtual bedtime stories.

Wellness

  • Family Tree Yoga in Stamford has a variety of online yoga classes for families including Mommy & Me: Babies and Prenatal Yoga.
  • Mystic Yoga Shala is offering virtual 45-minute yoga classes designed specifically for kids.
  • The Well Yoga & Mindfulness Studio in Madison is hosting virtual yoga classes with teen and kids classes.