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How To Keep Your Kids Engaged & Busy Beyond Online Classwork

May 1, 2020 / 8:55 AM EDT / CBS Miami

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It's been about six weeks since schools have shifted to distance learning. This has parents looking for ways to keep kids engaged and busy beyond the classwork.

Some of the top kid-friendly destinations for fun and learning are right here in South Florida – all offering virtual access for kids of all ages.

Frost Science@Home for example offers free family-friendly science activities on its website.

"Frost Science developed an entirely new digital platform to give parents and kids and anyone who is a science enthusiast a chance to really engage in science content and dive into some fun hands-on activities," said Dr. Angela Colbert, vice president of education at Frost Science.

You'll find DIY science activities from the simple, like making a sundial, to the messy, such as creating soap putty.

"Some of them have videos that go around with them, others tell you step-by-step with lessons so you don't even have to be a scientist to do them we tell you the background everything you want to know in order to do these activities," Colbert said.

And you can check out the museum's popular, beautiful sea creatures live every day.

"We have a live gulf stream cam so you can actually watch our fish and our turtle Miko and see our sharks just to make your day a little better and started off on the right foot," she said.

For crafty kids, Broward's Young at Art Museum has at-home activities designed by professionals. For example, they have a how-to on creating a puppet with recycled materials. There are instructions, downloads and they post kids' designs on their Instagram and Facebook pages for a digital art showcase.

For the wilder crowd, since you can't visit Zoo Miami, check out Zoocademy. They have a wide array of educational and fun material on their site to explore, as well as getting up close and personal with some of the animals hosted by Ron Magill.

And don't forget the resources available at the library. Both Miami-Dade and Broward public libraries offer eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, movies, music, online learning and more, all are free with your library card.

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