If you live in Central Indiana with kids, your school is likely closed or closing soon to help deter the spread of coronavirus.

On Thursday, most public schools in Marion and Hamilton counties announced they would shutter and switch to eLearning at least through the spring break holidays until sometime in April, depending on the district. And the places you might normally take them, like the Children's Museum, are closing too.

That means your kids will have a lot of time cooped up at home, likely restless and bored at times. When they are not busy with distance learning, it will be important to keep them occupied.

The Indianapolis Public Library declared earlier that all locations are scheduled to close starting 5 p.m. on Saturday. But even though families can't go in person, the library has a wealth of resources that they can access for free online.

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Darlene Fox, electronic resources librarian for the Indianapolis Public Library, said with a library card, parents and kids have access to the website's "Download & Stream" section with 10 apps offering free content. Fox said parents will have to help kids get set up with accounts to use the apps, but once they are in, they're pretty easy to navigate through a computer, tablet or smartphone.

"The situation is terrible, but at least a good thing is hopefully if people don’t already know about (the online resources), they’ll learn what’s available and they can use it all the time," Fox said. "We try and provide online resources that people can use from home, from any place, anywhere with a library card number."

Kanopy is a video-streaming website that offers a kids-only, all-ages platform aptly named Kanopy Kids. Your kids will have access to popular titles such as "Sesame Street" and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood." The interface is broken down by category including Tales from History that features videos about historical figures and events, Explore Science and Math with educational videos, and Story Time with animated readings of picture books. There's a limit of 10 titles per month.

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Hoopla is a platform offering E-books, videos, music and comics with a limit of 10 titles per month. Axis 360 offers E-books and audiobooks exclusively for kids and teens. Flipster and RB Digital have E-magazines with content just for kids and teens.

TumbleBook Library has E-books, audiobooks and read-along stories for pre-kindergarten through third grade, and TumbleBook Cloud Jr. provides online books for kids in grades 3 through 6.

The Research section of the library website can be helpful to kids with homework. Users can narrow by category or choose the "Homework Help" filters for grades K through 5, or 6 through 12. Fox said the World Book encyclopedia is particularly popular for kids to complete assignments.

Fox said Mango Languages is a great resource for kids in 3rd grade and older to learn a foreign language, with more than 70 to choose from and 17 English as a second language programs.

Don't have a library card yet? Just click the "Get a Library Card" link on the IPL website and fill out the online application. To be eligible, the applicant must live in Marion County (except Speedway), be 18 or older, have a phone number in the applicant's name and have a valid email address.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which on Friday morning announced it would close from Saturday, March 14 through Saturday, March 28, will launch its "Museum at Home" program via social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Programs include DIY science experiments, Facebook Live chats with museum experts, "Museum in a Minute" that shows a walk-through of museum exhibits, a morning workout with coaches from the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience, museum trivia and Curate Your Collection, where curators share tips for how kids can start their own collections at home.

How to get internet

Some internet providers are relaxing policies and offering free or discounts for individuals who qualify.

Charter Communications announced on Friday that for 60 days the company will offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access to homes with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a subscription. Installation fees will also be waived for these households. Enroll by calling 844-488-8395.

Charter will also continue Spectrum Internet Assist, a program offering low-cost broadband internet of 30 Mbps for low-income households without school-aged children.

Comcast, which owns Xfinity, will offer 60 days free and increased speeds for new families who join the Internet Essentials program, an internet access program for low income families that is normally $9.95 a month.

AT&T announced on Friday it would not cancel service and would waive late fees for any wireless, home phone, broadband residential or small business customer experiencing hardships because of the coronavirus pandemic and can't pay their bills.

Qualifying low income households can apply for $10 a month internet access through the Access from AT&T program. Fixed Wireless Internet and Wireline customers can use unlimited internet data. AT&T will also keep public Wi-Fi hotspots open.

Things to do when you're at home

Visit The Children's Museum from home. The physical building is closed for now, but it has virtual tours and educational activities in the mean time. Watch the museum's social media — on Facebook, @TCMIndy on Twitter and @childrensmuseum on Instagram — for pop-up activities. It's showing DIY science experiments, story time for preschoolers, quick walk-throughs of exhibits, workouts for families, trivia and tips for kids to start their own collections at home.

See the Eskenazi Museum of Art online. Through Indiana University, take a look at Ansel Adam's photographs, Danish Abstract Expressionist sculptures, African clay vessels and more, with discussions and details from curators. Visit artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online.

Stream and read thanks to the Indianapolis Public Library. Visit indypl.org/books-movies-music/download-stream to download and stream the library's digital resources while it's closed. Links to e-magazines, e-comics, games and more are available via indypl.org/blog/for-adults/ematerials. If you need help navigating, call 317-275-4184 or text 317-333-6877 during normal business hours.

IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni contributed to this report.

Contact IndyStar reporter Kellie Hwang at 317-444-6032 or kellie.hwang@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @KellieHwang.