Kentucky Museums Provide Online Learning Tools During Coronavirus School Shutdowns

Schools have shut down across the Commonwealth in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Now parents and teachers are looking for ways to educate and entertain children. Museums across Kentucky are stepping up to the plate. Louisville's Speed Art Museum provides the widest variety of options that young and old will enjoy. Speed has posted (almost) their entire art collection online, allowing individuals to walk through the museum from their WiFi-connected device. For children, Speed goes the extra mile in their Art Sparks program. There are printable coloring pages, worksheets and activity videos, like instructions on how to make paper flowers with coffee filters. https://youtu.be/KGWPoe6XgFo If you're more of a history buff, there are more than enough options for you to choose from. As soon as the coronavirus shut down the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, they sprung into action to create a virtual museum. With the help of former WHAS11's Rachel Platt, the museum is sharing their artifacts online. They have created a couple of videos as well, including one that will teach you how to cook a piece of history, the popover. https://youtu.be/k15M9o64BaU The Lexington History Museum provides online virtual tours of the museum, featuring exhibits on horse racing in Lexington, Kentucky's 225th birthday and more. The Kentucky Historical Society is providing free virtual tours of the Old State Capitol building that will broadcast LIVE from Facebook on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. By offering the tours Live on Facebook, you can interact by asking the host questions during the walk through the building that was the home of politics in Kentucky from 1830-1910. You can find more information here. In a more niche topic, the International Museum of the Horse has almost a dozen online exhibits that touch on a variety of topics, from Calumet Farm's victories on the race course to the history of the Buffalo Soldiers, they have something for everyone. If you need a more wide-ranging sample of topics and artifacts, the Smithsonian has provided learning resources along with virtual online tours and exhibits that you can spend hours exploring.