Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Virtual learning: How to keep your kids engaged while they’re off from school

By
 

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has caused restaurants, bars, museums, schools, and more to close down to prevent the rapid spread of the virus. Many kids are home from school these next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean they have to pause educational and interactive learning. There are plenty of sites and apps offering virtual field trips, interactive tools, and even remote trips to space.  

Recommended Videos

Here are some virtual ways you can keep your kids learning despite the closing of schools. 

Related: 
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more
This article is part of our continuing series, School’s out: How we learn in the age of coronavirus
The rapid spread of the coronavirus, formally known as COVID-19, caused school districts, colleges, and universities to shut down and move all classes online with very little notice. Millions of students and parents suddenly have to deal with the new reality of remote learning.
why the coronavirus could remake school as we know it schools out education module hero v3

Go to the zoo

The Cincinnati Zoo, home of Fiona the hippopotamus, is posting a “Home Safari Facebook Live” every weekday at 3 p.m. ET (noon PST) starting this week. The virtual event will highlight one of the zoo’s animals each day and will even include an activity for kids to do at home. 

The San Diego zoo also has live cams of various animal exhibits, including penguins, pandas, koala bears, giraffes, tigers, and more. 

Visit a museum 

Museums are getting in on the virtual reality action too. Renowned museums around the world are offering virtual tours for those stuck at home. 

The  Louvre museum in Paris offers virtual tours for some of its exhibits, including remains of the Louvre’s Moat and the Galerie d’Apollon. 

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History also offers a wide array of virtual tours of its current exhibits, with glimpses into its Butterfly Pavilion, the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils, and the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. 

Google Arts & Culture has also teamed up with more than 500 museums from around the world to bring their exhibits online. Collections from museums such as the British Museum in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam are available to view for free. 

Learn at home

Scholastic has launched a free “Learn at Home” program for students out of school during the coronavirus outbreak. The program has daily courses for pre-K and kindergarten, as well as students in grades one through six. 

Some of the things kids can expect to learn in the program include physical science, social studies, and even how emojis are engineered. There will also be virtual field trips.

Explore outer space 

For aspiring astronauts, NASA is offering virtual tours of its Glenn Research Center facilities, including the Glenn Hanger and the Hubble Telescope Control Center. 

NASA TV also offers regular programming such as live interviews with astronauts on board the International Space Station, spacewalks, rocket launches, and more. There’s a schedule of all upcoming live events on NASA TV. 

Allison Matyus
Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
Topics
The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Read more
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii 4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more