BCPSfest Goes Virtual This Year Due To Coronavirus

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — With school starting online this fall for Baltimore County Public Schools students, there won't be a traditional BCPSfest. So school district educators are hosting Virtual BCPSfest 2020 instead.

Since 2015, BCPSfest has been held outside Boscov’s department store at White Marsh Mall. BCPS offices and school system partners have hosted booths offering educational games, resources and giveaways, and student groups have provided live entertainment. Last year, more than 2,000 students, caregivers and community members participated.

Since that isn't possible this year due to the coronavirus, a series of videos featuring fun learning activities for school district families will air on BCPS-TV (Comcast channel 73 and Verizon channel 34) from Tuesday through Friday at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day. They also can be viewed online with translations available through YouTube's settings for subtitles/closed captions.

“Since we cannot gather in person at our annual BCPSfest to play educational games and celebrate the start of the school year, we are hoping that students and their families will enjoy these videos instead,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams in a statement. “Think of it as a last-minute, optional warm-up for classes, which will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Many thanks to our outstanding educators who found time in their schedules to create these fun activities.”

Videos featured in the series are:

• Adding Integers Game (Mathematics)
• Cardboard Tube Learning Buddies (Visual Arts)
• Junior Astronomer (Science)
• Junior Naturalists (Science)
• Making a Sketchbook (Visual Arts)
• My Plate Activity (Physical Education/Nutrition)
• Rope Jumping (Physical Education)
• Wheel of Election Knowledge (Social Studies)
• You’re Never Too Old or Young for a Read Aloud (English Language Arts)

Students and families can post photos and videos of themselves participating in the Virtual BCPSfest 2020 activities on social media using #back2BCPS.