Just for Teens At-Home Activities

Find something that sparks your creativity or stretches your mind!

Stay Active (Mind & Body)

  • ​The Code Studio is always open! Learn computer coding basics or build your own game. No account is needed, but you can create one to save your progress.
  • ​Nerdy Nummies: Bake along with YouTube star Rosanna Pansino as she creates elaborate desserts like Super Mario truffles, Spiderman candy apples, and rainbow cakes.​
  • Stay active with P.E. with Joe, a YouTube series with daily updates and home workouts for everyone to help you get, stronger, healthier and happier.
  • ​Khan Academy offers expert-created and always-free content for every level (pre-K to college).  You can practice at your own pace, take one course, explore eight courses, and choose your path to learning!
  • ​Zooniverse allows you to volunteer online! Join the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. Sign up and volunteer to help classify wildlife, transcribe historical texts, identify celestial bodies, and more!

Art & Stories

  • ​​Creativebug has dozens of classes for artists and makers.  Learn to draw in manga art style, craft a stitched bracelet, make a zine, and more!​
  • NaNoWriMo​: Every story matters. Start yours with NaNoWriMo, a free online creative platform designed to help writers track their progress, set milestones, connect with other writers, and more as a novel takes shape.
  • ​Join author/illustrator Carson Ellis in the #QuarantineArtClub. Start on her blog or on Instagram for the first project and tag your work to share it!
  • ​Tell a story with your art in #StoryMarch. Artists of all ages are invited to make a piece of art every day in any medium (pencil, ink, photography, etc.) that matches a daily challenge. Share your work on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and keep adding to your story!
  • ​Stuck at home? So is Aiden!  There's a lot of stuff going on these days, what with school closures and toilet-paper conundrums. And it's stuff that we're all experiencing right along with Aiden in Rex Ogle's new book Aiden Tyler, Quaran-Teen. Rex is writing this creative new middle-grade offering in real-time. Tune in every Tuesday at 2 p.m. to catch the latest in Aiden's quaran-teen'ed story—and stick around after the reading for a weekly Q&A with Rex.
Visit "How to Draw Tutorials" for the last steps and more ideas!
Print free coloring pages to brighten your room!

Digital Escape Rooms

These Digital Escape Rooms were crafted by the finest library minds to challenge you. 
​Can you escape?

Podcasts

  • 99 Percent Invisible:* How design impacts our lives, from sports bras to store logos.
  • Mouthful:* Young adults tackle complex topics, including eating disorders, stop-and-frisk, and gender identity in these dramatic monologues.
  • Radio Rookies:* Stories created by teens that may inspire listeners to make their own.
  • Radiolab:* Think a geeky This American Life with lots of sound effects as host Jad Abumrad explores scientific, musical, and other topics. Hip and approachable.
  • Re: Sound:* Curated by the folks behind Chicago’s Third Coast Audio Festival, this podcast has audio documentaries and features.
  • Storycorps:* The storytellers span all generations, allowing teen listeners to tune into other points of view.
  • Stuff You Missed In History Class: As its title suggests, this podcast delves into lesser known historical facts and figures.  From the greatest to the strangest, the hosts explore interesting tidbits from the past.
  • What's Good Games: Your source for video game news, analysis, commentary and funny stuff for the nerd-inclined. With over 30 years of video game industry experience between the three hosts, the conversation is sure to be passionate but never takes itself too seriously.
  • Youth Radio:* Journalistic stories produced by young people from the Bay Area for teens all across the country.

​​*Recommended by School Library Journal's "Prime Time for Podcasts."