Recommended activities

We researched museums and art sites all over the United States to bring you this list of activities that you can enjoy at home.  

Lower Grades

Make 3 different wind instruments using objects found around your house. You will need a plastic bottle, paper, scissors, wax paper, a rubber band, something to create a hole in cardboard, and a toilet paper roll.

H is for Helmet: Create a helmet that shows off your superpower with this activity from the Children's Museum of Art in New York City.

Draw together: Illustrator Wendy Mac’s YouTube channel is dedicated to drawing with children. Check out Week 3: The Five Senses and Week 6: All Things Earth.

Enjoy Oliver Jeffers Book a Day: Oliver Jeffers, children’s book writer and illustrator, reads from his books and talks about how he made them. Draw your own pictures based on Oliver’s art.

Create an Amate: Follow this activity from the Mexican Museum San Francisco to make a “bark paper” artwork called an Amate. Supplies include a paper bag, scissors, black watercolor paint, water, paintbrush, and crayons.

Choose from these free activities from Illustoria Magazine: Free activities for kids and families, including making natural dyes, drawing patterns, and fabric painting.

Tecuan mask: Create a Mexican wild beast mask to wear in your next Zoom meeting. Supplies include four different colored sheets of paper, scissors, glue stick, pencil, a black marker, and crayons.

Make a shaving cream print: Using shaving cream, food coloring, and some household supplies, make a fun card for a friend or family member.

Origami hearts: Use whatever paper you have around the house, and some scissors, to create an origami heart to share with someone you love.

Cardboard sculpture: Learn about the artist Ann Weber from this video by the Oakland Museum. Then follow the Cardboard Sculpture Challenge provided on the webpage. Materials include cardboard, scissors, and something that can hold cardboard together: either tape or glue. 

Create a greenhouse: Create your own miniature greenhouse where you can grow plants. Supplies include a zip lock plastic bag, scissors, paper towel, markers, tape, seeds or vegetable scraps, and a place to record what you learn from the process. 

Your ocean critter: Explore the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary through videos. Then follow this activity from the Oakland Museum to create an ocean critter from recycled materials. Suggested materials include toilet paper tubes, egg cartons, pipe cleaners, bottle caps, popsicle sticks, glue or tape, markers, and scissors.

Instruments from recycled objects: With a guitar, an oboe, and a drum you’ve got enough instruments to form a band. Make all of these with supplies you find around your home. For the guitar you’ll need an empty tissue box, scissors, two pencils, and rubber bands. For the drum you’ll need a small can, a round balloon, a rubber band, and a pencil with an eraser. For the drum you’ll need drinking straws and a pair of scissors.

Lower to Middle Grades

Create a neighborhood guide: Watch this video to learn how to make a neighborhood guide using a single sheet of paper and some pens.

Your Oakland map: Follow this activity from the Oakland Museum to create a map of the places you care about in Oakland. Supplies include paper and whatever drawing materials you have.

Bring the Noise: Learn about sound waves through this interactive lesson. Then, create your own project to teach others about sound waves. This could be a script for a podcast, a video, or a poem or rap. 

Flores de Papel: Create beautiful flowers from tissue paper based on this exercise from the Mexican Museum San Francisco . You will need scissors, one pipe cleaner per flower, and at least 4 sheets of tissue paper.

Create stories with words and pictures: Follow this interactive lesson to learn about storytelling from a professional illustrator, cartoonist, and author. Then you will follow activities to plan out your own story. When you are finished with the activity, hopefully you will be inspired to start a visual story from scratch.

Everyday Objects Mandala: Create a mandala with objects found in your home. Almost anything can work, the fun is in the searching and gathering.

Cardboard weaving: Learn about textile artist Diedrick Brackens and then create a weaving that reflects your heritage or your identity. Supplies include cardboard, yarn, fabric, scissors, ruler, tape, and markers.

Camera sculpture: Discover Dorothea Lange’s photography and Libby Black’s sculptures made from everyday objects by checking out the links in this activity provided by the Oakland Museum. Then, create a camera sculpture that tells a story about your world today. Supplies include scissors, tape or glue, materials to build your camera (paper, cardboard, or a recycled box), and things to draw with.

Make a recycled planter: You can green up your indoor environment with a recycled drink bottle and some seeds or a small plant. 

Junk mail flowers: Using chopsticks, junk mail, and scissors, you can make flowers to decorate your surroundings.

Make vegetables into more vegetables: Follow this tutorial to learn how to make vegetable leftovers into new vegetables. 

Paper weaving: Weave 2 pieces of paper together to create a brand-new artwork. You will need scissors, tape, and 2 pieces of paper—these can be magazine pages or your artwork.

Make a Piñata: Use a thin cardboard box, tape, shredded paper, string, scissors, and decorations to make a Piñata.  

Quilling: Create unique art by rolling paper and gluing it to a backing page. You will need strips of paper, paper to use as the background, tape, glue stick, and a pencil. 

Knitting loom: What can you make with a toilet paper roll, 2-3 straws, tape, yarn, and scissors? A knitting loom, of course. Once you have your loom, you can use it to make yarn garlands.  

Yosemite Food Web: Learn about the plants and animals of Yosemite in this activity from the Oakland Museum. Then, follow the instructions to create a web that shows how animals are connected through what they eat. Supplies include paper and whatever drawing supplies you have.

Make an impact with photography: Learn about the work of photographer Dorothea Lange in this activity from the Oakland Museum. Analyze Lange’s images and consider what change you would like to see in the world today. Take ten photographs that can help raise awareness about what is important to you. Where can you share your image to start creating the change you want to see?

Summer road trip: Plan a fantasy journey while you’re stuck at home with this fun at-home activity guide from the Smithsonian. Map out your journey: figure out how you are going to get there, what you are going to take with you, and what you will eat and do once you arrive. There are many different activities in this guide, each with their own supply needs, so pick and choose which activities you have the supplies for or gather supplies and come back to the activities later. 

Create a floating mandala: Follow the directions provided by the Wing Luke Museum to create a Mandala of flowers or plants. You will need a large bowl and a variety of leaves, grasses, and/or flowers.

Design a Sari: Learn about Indian Saris from this activity guide from the Wing Luke Museum. Then design your own Sari. Supplies include tissue paper in different colors, scissors, glitter pens or glitter glue, glue, ruler, pencil, and a printout of a body template (or create your own based on the image provided).  

Make a no-sew Bojagi: Learn about Bojagis—a Korean wrapping cloth. Then make your own using a base fabric, fabric scraps, scissors, and fabric adhesive. 

Make an Amabie Amulet: Learn about Japanese charms called Amabie in this activity guide from the Wing Luke Museum. Then, create an Amabie that you can hang from a doorknob or bag. Supplies include an index card, a way to make a hole in the index card, a pencil, colored pencils, and yarn, ribbon, or string of your choice.

African drumming: Follow this short lesson to learn about the cajon and djembe drums and practice some rhythms.

Middle School

T-shirt bag: Choose from 3 different methods to make a bag out of old t-shirts and turn trash into a unique and useful treasure.

Hardware jewelry: If you have access to hex nuts, washers, or other hardware, make a unique necklace or bracelet.

Make T-shirt yarn: All you need is an old t-shirt and some good scissors to make yarn for your next crochet or knitting project. 

Homemade watercolor paints: Using dried out markers, scissors, pliers, and water, you can make your own watercolor paint. 

Repujado: Create an embossed metal artwork following instructions from the San Francisco Mexican Museum. Supplies include tape, one 12 ounce can (like a recycled soda can), one piece of cardboard, a pencil, and a permanent marker. Other optional supplies are listed in the exercise. 

Neighborhood zine: Follow this activity from the Oakland Museum to create a zine about your neighborhood. Supplies include paper, scissors, and drawing materials.

Middle to Upper Grades

MCD@HOME: San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design has crafted a collection of at-home art activities, in collaboration with artists and community entities.

Romare Bearden and Bessie Smith: Learn how collage artist Romare Bearden was influenced by jazz and the music of Bessie Smith. Then make a collage that expresses rhythm through color and repetition. Use any supplies you have access to including paper, recycled materials, and glue. Look up the art of Romare Bearden for more inspiration. 

Art supplies hidden in your home: Check out this page of household items that can be used as art supplies. List what is available to you in your home. Is there anything Art Prof left off the list? Make sure you have permission, and then make something with your unexpected art supplies.

Draw a psychological landscape after watching this video from Art Assignment. Check out some of the responses to this assignment for more inspiration.

Watch Animation Basics and then look up free stop motion animation programs for your phone or other device. Learn how to do stop motion animation from the Animoto Blog. Practice making videos with objects in your home. 

Make an Intimate, Indispensable GIF: Learn about the work of Toyin Odutola and comics and moving pictures. Then create a GIF of your own about something that is indispensable to you. Toyin uses photography and drawings and brings them into Photoshop to animate them, but you can use whatever software or phone apps you have access to. For more inspiration, see some of the responses to this assignment.

Build with cardboard: What can you make using recycled cardboard, scissors, and tape? Watch this video and then challenge yourself to create a 3-dimensional structure using the techniques you learned.

Try embroidery: For this activity, you will need a needle, thread, pencil, fabric, scissors, and an embroidery hoop. If you don’t have an embroidery hoop, make one from a plastic container with a lid, tape measure, marker, utility knife, and a nail file.

Animate people: See sample work and instructions from Art Prof. Then collaborate with a family member to make an animated film where your family member is moved in fun and unexpected ways. All you need (besides a collaborator) is a cell phone camera, a stop motion animation app like iMotion, and a way to stabilize your camera phone. 

Are Emoticons the Future of Language? Watch this video from Off Book. Then, choose ten emotions and create a small emoticon sketch for each. Think about how your emoticons can express something about you as an individual and also be stylized in a way that is consistent across all ten.

The Universal Arts of Graphic Design: Watch this video from Off Book. Then, go for a walk around your home or outside and take photos of all the graphic design examples you find. Bonus: find a design you don’t like and redesign it.

The Art of Logo Design: Watch this video from Off Book. Then, come up with a fictitious business that could make a positive difference in your world right now. Give the business a name and write down some characteristics of the products or services it develops. Then draw 5 logo sketches to propose to the owners of your fictitious company.

The Effect of Color: Watch this video from Off Book. Then, choose at least three photographs that express different moods. Use filters to change the color tone of each image and notice how you can change the mood of the images. Bonus: create a photo collage like the one found at 1:51 in the video.

High School

Take the dare: Each month Art Prof posts a new Art Dare. Watch this month’s video and then create (and share) your response to the current dare. Don’t like this month’s dare? Choose a different month or try it anyway.

Chipboard Personality Sculptures: Watch the video demo from Art Prof and then create two abstract 3D artworks with chipboard (consider recycled food boxes) that represent two different sides of your personality. Ideal supplies include sketching materials, chipboard, utility knife, ruler, cutting mat, and a glue gun, but work with what’s available and have fun. 

Tell a story with pictures: Watch the video demo from Art Prof and then create a visual story from your own life or family history. Ideal supplies include paper, pencil, drawing pen, ink, brushes, and recycled containers for water, but use what you have. Watercolor and pencils can also work well. 

Design a creature: Watch the video demo from Art Prof and then create a creature of your own combining characteristics of two or more living beings: plants and/or animals. Supplies include paper, ballpoint pen, watercolors, and colored pencils. The demo includes a useful technique to try with tracing paper if you have it or you might try taking a picture with your phone and using a free app like Procreate to test colors.

Draw an Imaginary environment: Draw an imaginary environment for your characters or yourself. Watch the demo from Art Prof and then illustrate your own environment. Supplies include ballpoint pen and watercolor on paper.

Cartoon Selfie: Watch the video demo from Art Prof and then create a series of cartoons based on yourself. Supplies include a felt tip pen and paper, but use your favorite drawing tools.

How to Be Creative: Watch this video from Off Book. Then spend 10-15 minutes writing a list or sketching the many ways that you are creative or wish to be creative.

Black Panthers Video: Watch the video All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50. Then download the worksheet provided by the Oakland Museum and write down your responses to the questions provided.

Japanese: Arts & culture: Check out this amazing page full of videos about Japanese arts and culture, including robots, drumming, and more robots. What inspires you? Draw, write, or make your own robot design based on what you discover.

Calligraphy can be cool: Watch these videos of Koji Kakinuma’s calligraphy work. Then, choose music that interests you and art supplies you like using and make art as you listen to music.

Wellness 

Kids learn to meditate: Take this 5-day course from Insight Timer to learn Mindfulness Meditation. Lessons are 5-12 minutes each.

Teens: A guide to mindfulness: Take this 10-day course from Insight Timer to learn Mindfulness Meditation. These meditations are specifically designed to help teens face the challenges of navigating between many concerns and responsibilities.

Free yoga and mindfulness for children and teens: Two separate courses are offered, one for children ages 3-12 and the other for teens. Each consists of 12 short lessons of approximately 15 minutes.

Dance in celebration: Follow this short African dance lesson. 

Latin dance: Follow this short Latin dance lesson.

Parents

PBS has ideas: Check out PBS’s parents page for activities to do with your children. Find the most appropriate activities by selecting an age range between 2 and 8 and then choosing a topic. Topics include art, emotions and self-awareness, and academic subjects like math.

Talk to Children Authentically about Race and Racism: Watch this conversation hosted by PBS KIDS for tips on talking to young children about racial injustice and violence against Black people. 

Storyline Online: Choose from 100s of children’s picture books read by celebrities. The books are animated lightly for extra fun.

At Home with the Reggio Approach: Ideas and activities for playing, exploring, and learning with children ages 0-3.