Learn & PlayStation Blog
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Community at home — from home! [A growing compilation]

There are so many local organizations doing amazing things to help keep us all inspired and entertained while we stay home to help keep our family, friends and neighbors safe. Check out some of the fun, inventive things they have to offer in the list below.

It’s only a partial list, with room to grow! If you or your organization would like to be added, please get in touch today!

The Wild Center

  • Virtual Visit – Take a spin around The Wild Center from your couch! Navigate to different exhibits and check out every nook and cranny of the Center (even places usually not open to the public!). Go in-depth with video content from Wild Center Naturalists and Animal Care Team. 
  • Lunchtime Live – Although you may not be able to visit The Wild Center, Lunchtime Live is bringing The Wild Center to you! We’re committed to bringing you fun, innovative and educational daily content Monday through Friday at 12pm while you’re at home. Wild Center educators and animal care staff will be sharing animal encounters, behind-the-scenes looks, projects and activities you can do in your own backyard.  This is totally interactive so we want you to join in! Make sure to follow us on social media and join the fun! Have something in mind you want to see? Send us a tweet or DM with your ideas!
  • Drop-in Digital Learning Programs – You may not be able to currently visit The Wild Center, but we’re still working hard to bring the educational experience into your home. Over the next few weeks teachers and students can look out for Digital Drop-In Opportunities to learn more about Adirondack animals, engineering challenges and Earth Science with Wild Center educators and animal care staff! Each week we will be offering free, live educational distance learning programs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11am.  Programs are archived on our website.
  • Live Cams – As always, our live cams are up-and-running and providing folks with live looks at the Center and at different locales within the Adirondacks.
  • Wild Content Hub – This is a library of content that The Wild Center has produced and now has a home. This content will rotate every week.

Plattsburgh Public Library

Cornell Cooperative Extension

Cornell Cooperative Extension has assembled many Farm to School resources in a public Google Drive folder. Here, you can find a range of virtual farm tours and live streams, worksheets, at home growing activities, and harvest of the month activity ideas!

Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country

CCCCNC has made it a priority to be available to answer people’s questions regarding child care during this time. In our family resource centers, coordinators are working hard to conduct virtual check-ins and phone calls with families connected to our various programming, and providing ways to engage from home.

  • Participate in our virtual play groups on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You can see those on Facebook.
  • We are also continuing to provide a virtual version of our North Country Parenting Support Group via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • We’ve created an agency-wide newsletter to be posted weekly on all three of our family resource center Facebook pages (Family Connections – Plattsburgh, Families-R-Us – Malone, and Family Matters – Tupper Lake). In those newsletters, Family Resource Center coordinators share critical community resources as well as kid-friendly craft/art project ideas and instructions for families to follow along at home.

The Hyde Collection

From its founding, The Hyde Collection has been committed to the well-being of the Glens Falls community. Though we have had to close the Museum and are practicing social distancing, we are open online.

In various ways, we will bring you The Hyde at home. Please continue to visit our Facebook page and website as we invent new ways for us to stay connected and to share our love of art. Click here to read The Hyde’s Museum blog where we share the latest art news, curator’s thoughts, and virtual tours from around the world.

Plattsburgh Housing Authority

Plattsburgh Housing Authority has made significant changes in the ways they serve their residents, including delivering meals, supplies, and newspapers to residents. The Housing Authority has also created a special hotline to allow residents to request food or supplies at (518)-561-0720 ext. 239. While the Administrative Office is closed, they are still working to fill vacant units by appointment only. The most up-to-date information is posted on their Facebook page.

Lake Champlain Basin Program

The Lake Champlain Basin Program Resource Room at ECHO is currently closed to the public, but we are still here for you! LCBP staff are working remotely, answering questions and providing Lake and Watershed education.

We have some great virtual resources to share, including our website www.lcbp.org, the 2018 State of the Lake Report, the Lake Champlain Basin Atlas, and an online video series.

Our new Online Education Resources webpage is up and running, filled with exciting remote learning opportunities. Organizations around Lake Champlain and beyond have stepped up to provide an amazing variety of virtual learning adventures, and the list keeps growing.

Teachers, students and families are strongly encouraged to reach out for educational support. We would be happy to set up student interviews by phone, answer questions by email, and provide resources for learners of all ages.

Please contact the LCBP Resource Room by email at resourceroom@lcbp.org or leave a voicemail at 802-864-1848 x109. As always, we will do our best to answer your questions or forward them to someone who can. We look forward to hearing from you!

Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation

The Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation has created a page on our website where we have uploaded activities that can keep children and families occupied at home. The activities range from loon-themed board games and card games that can be printed out, to educational activities for students of all ages. We have included a word search, a crossword puzzle, a kindergarten counting book, a math and graphing exercise, and more! We will continue to add to it over the coming weeks. 

Dance Sanctuary in Saranac Lake

The Dance Sanctuary in Saranac Lake is excited to continue dancing together by going virtual! Let’s make lemonade out of lemons and keep the “dance” in social disDANCING. We now have virtual dance classes available. Email thedancesanctuary@gmail.com for more info.

Check out The Dance Sanctuary on Facebook and VIMEO for virtual content.

The Lake Placid Center for the Arts

The Lake Placid Center for the Arts is now offering a range of virtual experiences from live art classes to line dance, independent film rentals and more! We’re linking to most everything on our website’s Virtual Experiences page, including some free options as well.

Check out this list of upcoming classes:

FREE, Wednesday, April 15 – Wednesday, April 22

FREE, Tuesday, April 21, 5-7pm

$20 per log-in, Thursday, April 23, 5-7pm

Literacy Volunteers of Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties

Literacy Volunteers of Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties is continuing our traditional instruction using every possible avenue: phone calls, texts, teaching via Zoom, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to name a few. We are also downloading and copying materials and mailing packets to learners when limited access to the internet is an obstacle. Our learning plans now also include health literacy around Covid-19 in particular.

You can find more information, updates and resources by going to our Facebook page. To contact us directly, emails can be sent via our website contact page or by calling (518) 564-5332.

Lake Champlain Committee

Lake Champlain Committee is sharing an expanded line up of “Zoom a Scientist” programs that our friends at Lake Champlain Sea Grant have put together. This virtual webinar series is focused on watershed and aquatic science and features scientists from the University of Vermont Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, SUNY Plattsburgh, the Lake Champlain Research Institute, and more. 

You can tune in virtually through Zoom every Tuesday and Friday from noon to 1:00 p.m. to learn more about the lake! Programs are free, although registration is requested. 

Great Camp Sagamore

Great Camp Sagamore’s staff is sharing their expertise in nature and history so that children and families can explore these subjects and how they relate to the Adirondacks, from home. Have fun while broadening your knowledge by visiting our Facebook page or website at Sagamore.org.

Mercy Care for the Adirondacks

Mercy Care for the Adirondacks continues to carry out its mission and programs, keeping volunteers and elders safe while helping meet their needs. Mercy Care Staff are working remotely from home and have replaced face-to-face visits to the elders we assist with telephone visits.

“Mercy Minutes” are being sent out each week to Volunteers, Board Members, and Staff with prayers and reflections to offer comfort. Mission Mondays, an extension of “Mercy Minutes”, are posted weekly on Mercy Care’s Facebook page.

Our Executive Director is working with various advocacy and nonprofit networking groups, aimed at collaborating during this difficult time, including the Adirondack Foundation, United Way, and Cloudsplitter Foundation.

Adirondack Center for Writing

The Adirondack Center for Writing brings people and words together by promoting the cultivation of art, reading and writing. Here’s what they’re doing to promote community:

  • ACW is celebrating #GivingTuesdayNow with their second “Spontaneous Stories with Nathalie” live telethon event. How does it work? Watch the event at facebook.com/AdkWriters/live (no account or sign in is required) on Tuesday, May 5 at 7PM. Comment with a prompt and Nathalie will share an unrehearsed, short and true story based on that prompt in real-time. You can send a theme or one word and she will share her stories! Call 518-354-1261 to give during the telethon.
  • ACW is also providing poemvillage, where new batches of poems are posted daily. Instead of visiting a corridor of poetry in town, access locally-harvested poems through your email inbox or the website for an epic display of poetry. Daily batches of poems are posted from Monday, April 20, 2020 – Sunday, May 31, 2020.
  • Check out the ACW family’s weekly writing prompts to inspire you to create your writing. The ACW writers are stepping up to share their expertise with you. Future prompts will be provided by Julia Alvarez, Mahogany L. Browne, Joseph Bruchac, Betsy Folwell, Sue Halpern, Bill McKibben, Jon Sands, Steve Stern, Chase Twichell, & more.