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NoMa neighborhood brings virtual storytime to life to entertain kids during pandemic

The NoMa Business Improvement District storytime includes puppets, games and more at the free weekly event.

WASHINGTON — When the coronavirus pandemic sent kids home from school, the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) got to work brainstorming virtual events that could bring families together in a socially distant way. 

"When everything closed down, we were looking for things for people to do in the neighborhood," President of the NoMa BID, Robin-Eve Jasper, said. "We wanted to have things that hit a cross-section of people who lived in the neighborhood."

Jasper said that even though many think of NoMa as a neighborhood that's mainly for young people, there are many families that reside in the area that could use a virtual event. 

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Now, kids and their parents can join from anywhere in the DMV for free, virtual storytime, made "magical" with creative twists, like the use of puppets from Blue Sky Puppet Theatre. Kids are welcome to participate in everything from listening to the original or classic tales, to interactive games and singing.

"We chose kind of a puppet theater so that they could really animate the stories they were telling," Jasper said. "They can tell the stories that they create on their own as well as stories from books." 

The events, open to all, can be found on the Business Improvement District's Facebook page. The virtual meeting information, including a Zoom link, is listed for all events through the fall. 

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