Educational Resources

Book learning only goes so far! Field trips are where it's at. Here are some ideas of where to go, and if you can go regularly, that's even better.

Links

• Exploratorium San Francisco children's science museum with online resources for learning
• Metropolitan Museum of Art Kid's Section It's cool, check it out
• MetMuseum Publications Apparently you can now download and read art masterpieces from here online
• National Park Service Most National Parks, historic sites, and public places of interest listed here are free to visit or have a reasonable entrance fee to help with the place's upkeep. Plus the website has a lot of good information.
• Lowell Observatory You actually have to go out to Flagstaff to visit but desert sky is clear there, which is a huge deal if you like astronomy
• Foxfire The book series now has a museum. For real it's probably worth the trip
• List of more science museums in the US A lot of these, also local science museums, now have online learning materials. I'll be looking into these gradually for a while.

Ideas

• The library - depending on how well supported and patronized these are, they may contain a large assortment of resources. Things I've seen in well-loved local libraries: textbooks you could check out, internet access and printing services, copy and scanning machines, music recording studio, seed swap area, teenager-only section, free and cheap classes, music concerts, MakerSpaces
• Maker Spaces - for a membership fee you can go and make just about anything here. These are like carpenter studios, smithys, machine shops, electronics stations, and laboratories all in one.
• Museums - excellent for bringing kids to, and they often have discounts. Museums aren't as well patronized these days so they often go above and beyond with their exhibits to try to appeal to new patrons.
• Nature preserves - depending on where you are, you can visit wetlands, mountains, tide pools, prairies, and so on, and you can learn a lot about biology and nature just by going there.
• YMCA / Local Gym / Community Sports Center - It's important to learn what kinds of exercise are actually fun to you. This helps.

Home