This resource list was developed when Lisa’s son was a middle-grade homeschool student. The websites and materials can be used as supplemental lesson media for teachers and anyone leading student group activities.
It expanded during the COVID pandemic when everyone was scrambling to find online learning resources.
For local – Nevada County, California nature and history – teaching resources, visit Following Deer Creek.com.
Art Gallery & Museum Virtual Tours
British Museum – London – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour | History Connected Infographic platform
Guggenheim – Bilbao, Spain – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour
JPaul Getty Museum – Los Angeles – Tour with Google Arts & Culture | Tour with Xplorit
London National Gallery – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour
London Natural History Museum – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour
MASP – São Paulo, Brazil – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour
The Met – Essays (short articles that include links to sculptures, paintings & more)
America Comes of Age: 1876–1900
Industrialization and Conflict in America: 1840–1875
Post-Revolutionary America: 1800–1840
Musée d’Orsay – Paris – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour Smithsonian Distance Learning Resources
Washington, DC Smithsonian Online Tours & Exhibitions – Washington, DC
South Korea National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art – Google Arts & Culture Virtual Tour
Vatican Museums – Rome – Virtual Tour
Coloring Pages to Download & Print
American Crystallography Association – Discovering Biology through Crystallography Coloring Book – Crystallography is the study of atomic and molecular structure.
Exploring Earth and Space coloring Book – 20 pages
Biology: Here is a way to have fun coloring while learning about the living world. These coloring pages and worksheets feature different areas of biology as well as fun facts.
Fractal Coloring – 40 pages – licensed for personal use only
Female Illustrators in Natural History
BHL Flickr collection to download and print 1, 405 images
Cartoon characters, connect the dots, superheroes, trolls, Lego, Fortnite, Moana, and for adults
Astronomy – Color the Universe
NASA – Orion A to Z – 27 pages
Ecosystems, National Parks, Sustainable Seafood, Palaentology & Animals
Cell Biology coloring Book – 38 pages
The Quantum Materials Colouring Book – A quantum material is something with interesting properties that can only be explained using the theory of quantum mechanics.
Online Classes – College Level
edX – free online classes from UC Berkeley, Univesity of Texas, Boston University, Stanford and more. Founded by Harvard and MIT edX supports learners at every stage, whether entering the job market, changing fields, seeking a promotion or exploring new interests. European Graduate School Division of Philosophy, Art & Critical Thought (PACT) at the European Graduate School / EGS. – YouTube Channel – Video Lectures Massive Open Online Courses (Harvard, MIT, etc.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) YouTube Channel Open Culture – University & College Podcasts
OpenStax – Free Textbooks UChannel – Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs WolframeAlpha – Compute expert-level answers using Wolfram’s breakthrough algorithms, knowledgebase and AI technology. Mathematics, Science & Technology, Society & Culture & Everyday Life YouTube – University Collection
— For Scholars
For scholars – Academic presses are making hundreds of their titles freely accessible online. Cornell University Press | University of Michigan Press | MIT Press | Princeton University Press | University of California Press & many more.
Online Classes – K-12
Jet Propulsion Laboratory – NASA Khan Academy
MEL Science – Mail order science experiment kits that include equipment and supplies. Get up to three experiments a month to expand your child’s horizons. Includes a free VR headset and Starter Kit. 
Get inspired and engaged with virtual dives, expeditions and ocean quizzes about the fascinating underwater world in a click on your phone or laptop. It is available on desktop, laptop, iPhone and iPad. Download the Google Earth App to dive in to explore the fascinating underwater world, including remnants of World War II as they stand today. Writing – Scope of Work Visual Tutorial | Slides (Lisa K. Buchanon) WolframeAlpha – Compute expert-level answers using Wolfram’s breakthrough algorithms, knowledgebase and AI technology. Mathematics, Science & Technology, Society & Culture & Everyday Life
–for Teachers
KVIE & PBS – FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for California teachers National Geographic – free online courses for educators equip teachers with powerful tools
Free Writing, Editing & Publishing Resources
Free Creative Project Media – photos, illustrations, sound files, music, and more
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