Did you know that art can help boost your child's interest in science? While hands-on experience with a pencil, brush, or instrument is important, it's more likely that children will have a smartphone or tablet in their hands. In their spare time—instead of watching YouTube videos or Snapchating—let them experiment with these apps for art, drawing, and coding.

1. Bandimal

Yatatoy

iTunes

BANDIMAL is a loop-based music composer for children ages four and up. The app lets you create drum beats, program musical loops using animals as instruments, and then add effects to your songs. Each of the nine available animals represents a specific instrument or noise—smaller animals like a chicken make higher tones and larger instruments make bass tones. The composition screen is split up into three tabs to place any three animals you'd like in your creature orchestra. They are animated and dance to the beat once you program and play the song. No music knowledge is required and your child can save their composition and return to it at any time. The app is available for iPhones and iPads. $4.