At-home activities

As part of our COVID-19 Arts Rescue Package announced in May 2020, we’ve taken our local creative and cultural institutions online, partnering with Ignition Immersive in South Melbourne to deliver 3D virtual tours. Read more about this initiative.

You can enjoy virtual tours of:

• Carlisle Street Art Space, explore the Vista exhibition
• Australian Tapestry Workshop
• Gasworks Arts Park
• Jewish Museum of Australia
• Linden New Art
• Temperance Hall

Through these tours anybody can visit, explore and enjoy these exhibitions and gallery spaces. In these virtual experiences, users use their mouse to enter the show and stroll around while turning in all directions. Buttons next to each artwork or collection item provide pop-up labels or a commentary and let you zoom in for a closer look.

Follow the Australian Tapestry Workshop Facebook page for updates.

Gasworks Arts Park scheduled exhibition program will be available to view online while the venue is closed during COVID-19 restrictions. Visit the Gasworks Arts Park website to explore current exhibitions via the Smartify app.

You can now visit the Jewish Museum of Australia virtually! Step inside a 360 degrees tour created by the team at South Melbourne based Ignition Immersive and explore all the exhibitions spaces including the Timeline of Jewish History and Belief and Ritual.

For some family fun you can Museum at Home: make your own museum and create a family Tree of Hope.

Linden New Art may have closed their doors, but their well-organised plans are being reshuffled and rearranged. They have created an Isolate with Linden section on their website including a range of kids activities while the gallery is closed.

You can also follow the Linden New Art Facebook page for the latest updates.

For the artists, entries are open for the Linden Postcard Show. Entries close 25 August 2020.

The Department of Education website provides useful information to support remote learning in Term 2. Parents and carers can access advice, tips and resources to help support their child’s continuity of learning from home.

The ABC Education website has a number of great free online learning resources for kids.

Libraries may be closed but there are a huge range of services and programs still being delivered online.

The popular Story Time is now being streamed via the Port Phillip Library Service Facebook page. Dedicated storytellers Alyssa, Catie, Kerstin, Lucy, Michael, Monica and Rohan will be sharing their favourite books and songs with you every week. You can find the playlist of all story time sessions recorded so far on Facebook too.

You can Choose Your Own Adventure with the new online The Quest for Gimdrum's Hoard: A dubious and ridiculous fantasy space adventure.

There are also a huge range of e-books and audio books for all ages available for download with your library membership. Keep updated via the Library website or Facebook page.

Itsy Bitsy Chef is going online! Their popular cooking with children classes are often held in Liardet Community Centre in Port Melbourne. And now they’ve gone online so your kids can continue to have fun learning from home with low-cost class options.

Check out the online shop at Itsy Bitsy Chef or call 0425 745 784 or email info@itsybitsychef.com.au for details.

Energy lift sessions

While we can't get out on the soccer pitch right now, Kamal and Amadu from the popular kids' soccer program One Ball are offering free weekly online kids energy lift sessions as well as free online workouts and wellbeing sessions for parents.

Online gymnastics

Fishermans Bend Gymnastics Club has created a series of video lessons for all ages and abilities. There's a lockdown family challenge, kinder gymnastics and more. Adult supervision required, check out their YouTube playlists. 

Check the Sport Phillip page for more ideas.

Have a crafternoon or learn to paint with Ken Done.

During your daily hour of exercise under Stage 4 restrictions, you can take the kids out for a walk through your local park or a bike ride along the Bay Trail. Just remember to respect physical distancing requirements.

Note: All playgrounds are currently closed due to COVID-19 Stage 4 restrictions.

Enjoy livestreams from Melbourne Zoo and meet the new baby otters.

Explore the sea life with virtual tours and special events livestreamed from Melbourne Aquarium.

Learn all about Australia reptiles with Tim Faulkner from the Australian Reptile Park! Join in online for fun and educational videos.

Travel around the world from the safety of your home.

A number of venues have released virtual tours, online performances and more. Some examples to get you started:

• Natural History Museum in London.
• The Louvre Museum in Paris
• The Met in New York
• Take a 360 degree virtual tour of The Ecotarium Museum of Science in Massachusetts, USA
• Enjoy a kids and families performance at the Sydney Opera House
• Visit Yosemite from your couch

Science Works has put together some great at-home experiments and activities for kids.

Why not camp in your backyard or living room, or build a pillow fort inside?

The Raising Children Network has a range of online resources available to parents, including a number of fantastic ideas for age-appropriate indoor play.

Smiling Mind has developed a new Families Program which includes meditations and activities suitable for all family members. To access the program, you will need to download the free Smiling Mind app.

There are a range of free online resources including free webinars and online courses that you can use to upskill during this stay at home period.

There are lots of resources for you to discover on our Heritage website. Explore your family history, investigate the history of your house or discover the stories of your local area.

You can also dip your toes into historical newspaper articles from across Australia over the past century courtesy of the National Library of Australia’s Trove database. There are currently 23.5 million newspaper pages and 2 million gazette pages digitised and available to view.

Port Phillip library members have access to a huge range of free apps with your library membership, including films, documentaries, learning, music, eAudio books, eBooks and eMagazines.

Check the library's Get App-tivated website for all the details.