Getting to The Art of It: Children's Museum of Manhattan at Home

While parents and students are adjusting to school at home, places like the Children’s Museum of Manhattan are trying to help. Their new series, “CMOM at Home” features a new activity everyday. 

When the museum closed back in March, Curator David Rios said the team began to consider how best to provide resources online, “It was a way for us to share with our families that we’re still there for them and thinking about ways to keep them engaged the way we would in person.” 

Parents who sign up for the CMOM at Home newsletter get an email every morning with that day’s activity. After that the activities can also be found on the museum’s website. Each day of the week has a different theme that encourages kids to explore everything from science and engineering to art and different cultures.

“The themes actually reflect a lot of what our mission is and what we do at the museum… Unfortunately a lot of kids aren’t able to explore their neighborhood right now or go to the park so it’s a way for them to reflect on the world they’re familiar with,” Rios said.

The activities, like “Living Room Olympics” which encourages kids to recreate their own games, and “Groovy Kitchen Lava Lamp”, which teaches kids how to make their own lava lamp using water and oil, come with learning outcomes. 

Rios explained these help guide parents and show them that fun can still be educational, “These activities, while they can be fun and kooky and silly, they have some key aspects that are going to be crucial to your child’s development.”

The activities are designed to be as easy and accessible as possible in a time where resources may be limited for many families.

“Each lesson is kind of like a recipe card. They’re meant to be short and we’re trying to make them as simple as possible… we don’t want you to have to read a lot or get stressed that you can’t do a science experiment.”

For parents and kids stuck inside, Rios hopes the activities will help to shake up their daily routines.

 “A lot of these activities are just getting you to reflect on what you have in your home. Even taking that moment to think about whether you have the supplies or ingredients helps to break up the day,” he said.

While it’s unclear when the museum can open again, Rios said a silver lining of the situation is the museum has pushed the museum to grow and develop their online presence, something he’s hoping will continue.

“What we realized early on, is that when this all over we’re going to be able to continue to share all of these activities with our families both at the museum, but also have them bring the museum back home with them.” 

For more information go to CMOM.org