Isolation can wreak havoc on your emotional stability. No? Just us? There are a lot of people who find themselves with ample time on their hands these days. And, more free time could mean obsessing over current events. So, to keep minds busy and engaged, virtual doors to culture, arts, science, and education have opened to us. We’ve created this list of things to do while staying at home.
Free Online Courses
Harvard: From coding to religious studies, Harvard has a catalog of free 4 week courses guaranteed to expand your mind.
Coursera: Over 4,000 different classes, ranging in length and topic, will keep you busy for the foreseeable future.
edX: 140 colleges around the world with over 2,500 courses offered from humanities to business, and more.
CodeAcademy: Learn to code for free. Build websites, or launch an entire new career.
Udemy: Take your pick of almost 7,000 free courses. Their paid classes are around $10 each, which is still reasonable.
Hubspot Academy: Get certified in content marketing, inbound marketing, email, and more.
World Tourist Site Tours
Blarney Castle: The home of the kissing stone, and rich in Irish history.
Hawai’i Volcano National Park: The site states you need to put on headphones for the best experience. Truly amazing.
Google Arts and Culture: Check out the Bolshoi in Russia, and when you’re done, visit the Vienna State Opera. Go wherever you want, from the comfort of your couch.
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Live webcams give you a peek into all the breathtaking displays. Watch penguins all day on your monitor while you work from home.
NASA: Take a tour of Langley Research Center, marvel at the mid-century modern architecture of the administration building or the acoustic lab in the research facility, plus more cool stuff to take you away from current events.
The Vatican: Visit the Vatican through a virtual tour. Even study the Sistine Chapel’s iconic ceiling.
Buckingham Palace: Virtually explore the Royal Family’s Palace.
National Parks: 113 National Parks + Being quarantined at home = lots of time to sightsee.
Arts and Culture
The Louvre: The museum may be closed right now, but you can still take virtual tours of some of the most famous displays. You will need to download Flash if you don’t already have it.
Guggenheim Over 600 artists with displays of 1,700 pieces of work can be viewed through the online gallery. Stare all you want, you’re not blocking anyone’s view.
National Museum of Natural History: Current, past, and permanent exhibits are all displayed in virtual tours. Map included.
The Met: Missing the opera? Every night on the Met website, an encore performance is streamed.
Van Gogh Museum: Take a tour of Amsterdam’s famous museum while sitting on your couch eating Girl Scout Cookies.
Detroit Institute of Arts: Visit this beacon of culture proudly displaying work from Frida Kahlo.
BroadwayHD: One week free for new subscribers and then it goes up to $8.99 per month. But, you can catch a lot of plays in the span of a week these days.
Exercise
Yoga With Adrienne: Even when we aren’t in lockdown, people rave about this yoga guru. No matter your experience level, there’s a practice for you. Down dog.
Down Dog: Wherever you go, you can take Down Dog with you. Barre, Hiit, and Yoga for your device or desktop. Namaste.
Peleton App: All you need is your own treadmill or stationary bike. Free for 90 day trial period.
Tone it Up: Workouts created for women, by women. But hey, men can do these, too.
Fitness Blender: Use this time to whip yourself into shape with these full-length workouts.
PopSugar: Ab-burning, thigh-firming, arm-toning workouts for guaranteed results.
Gold’s Gym: Always wanted to join the gym from the comfort of your own home? Now’s your chance. Gold’s Gym is free through May 31, 2020.
Sports
NHL: Hockey fans unite. You may not be able to watch sports in a stadium, but the NHL has some unique content to satisfy you.
NBA: Basketball is benched for the remainder of the season. But don’t worry, the NBA feels your pain and is delivering content to you.
NFL: Through May 31st, you’ll get an all-access pass to the NFL Game Pass. You can watch every game, all day, for free.
Hockey Hall of Fame: Take a tour through the “Cathedral to the Icons of Hockey”.
Zoos and Gardens
Atlanta Zoo: Watch the pandas play all day through the live Panda-cam.
Georgia Aquarium: Otters, Sea Lions, Beluga whales, oh my.
New England Aquarium: Take a virtual trip to Boston and see the world-famous aquarium.
San Diego Zoo: The zoo’s live cams take you inside the animal displays to get you up close and personal.
These are just a smattering of free courses, tours, and events happening across the internet. For more, you can do a quick Google search based on your interests and you’ll pages of ideas to keep yourself busy during the shelter in place and beyond.