Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photograph by Julian Wasser, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images

6 activities to help children dive into diversity

Kids are smart. They notice differences. But children are also amazing at accepting those differences. Help yours celebrate diversity with these activities from Nat Geo Kids.

ByRachel Buchholz

GET INSPIRED

This inspiring video of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. can spark teaching moments about race in America. (Read about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and about the historic March On Washington he led in 1963.)

BE A HERO

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., is greeted by other cadets at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, a flight-training school for African Americans.
Photograph by Gabriel Benzur / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images / Getty Images
Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American female elected to Congress, speaks to a crowd at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida.
Photograph by Pictorial Parade / Getty Images

Discuss how King fought for people of all races, then ask kids how they can be heroes themselves. Get them started with this fun quiz about heroes and heroines who come from different backgrounds. Then introduce them to other African-American heroes.

WATCH MOVIES

Start a Movie Culture Club featuring inclusive films. Kick off the evening with these shorts about Native Americans and about daily life on all seven continents.

EAT GLOBALLY

Mediterranean hummus
Photograph by Michael Piazza

Cook up some culture with easy-to-make dishes children may not be familiar with. Yummy international classics such as Mediterranean hummus and West African mafe will introduce kids to new tastes and give them respect for foods—and people—of different cultures. (Get the recipes.)

TOUR THE WORLD

Learn about the places those dishes come from and the people who live there in our countries hub. Check out facts, videos and photos.

CELEBRATE TRADITIONS

Close up of two girls hugging during Holi
Everyone is sticky in blue, yellow, green, and pink during Holi, a festival of colors and love that ushers in spring.
Photograph by triloks, iStockphoto
Songkran BuddhaTwo people pour water on a Buddha statue.
Photograph by Taylor Weidman, Getty Images

Have a favorite spring holiday coming up? Challenge kids to find shared or similar traditions in holidays celebrated around the world, such as crazy-colorful Holi of India or water-soaked Songkran of Thailand.