Beginning in March 2020, as a proactive reaction to closures and social distancing guidelines resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Pike County Extension Fine Arts began providing on-the-go art activity kits to the community. Since then, over 600 kits have been distributed to the public. Recipients of these kits have ranged from groups of elementary school students, homebound adults, homeschooled students, and even nursing home residents.  

These curbside kits are planned and assembled by the Fine Arts team and have included a variety of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) projects, such as mini canvas painting, flying airplane assembly, birdhouse construction, window sun catcher decorating, and more. During the summer, Fine Arts also collaborated with Agriculture & Natural Resources to develop a seedling kit that taught participants how to grow tomato seed starters in customizable planters. During the fall, Fine Arts collaborated on three projects with Snap Ed to bring pumpkin painting and approved pumpkin recipes to participants.

These kits also grew into an online class series offered via Facebook Live. Curbside kits of paint, brushes, and a stretched canvas are given out a day prior to the class which offers step-by-step acrylic painting instruction. These videos, while offered live at a specific time, remain viewable on the Fine Arts Facebook page and are added to our Youtube channel so participants can follow along at their convenience. Photos of finished paintings are sent in and shared on social media. We have also had reports that the live painting videos are entertaining even to those who do not wish to follow along in the process themselves, but do enjoy the experience of watching and listening to art being created.  

The art kits and online classes have proven to be very accessible to people who otherwise would not be able to participate, even outside of a pandemic, due to work schedules, mobility issues, and etc.