Museums Worldwide Give You a Chance to Look Up at Beauty from your Home

In times of lockdowns, quarantines, social distancing and other terms that have popped up as a result of the coronavirus outbreak around the world, the arts remain there for everybody to see and feast eyes on.

Many museums and attractions all over the globe have turned to the niceties of the virtual world to let people in on their exhibits and samples, to remind them of the fact that this is only a pause in the chance to visit the brick-and-mortar facilities.

As The Boothbay Register, a Maine-based newspaper in the United States, reports, there are options galores to be educatively entertained as long as this unfortunate process drags on.  

The Boston Children’s Museum and Children’s Museum of Indianapolis are just a couple museums providing virtual tours either by Youtube playlists, Google Arts and Culture or in-house 360° maps. 

Discovery Education provides virtual field trips viewing everything from polar bears on the tundra to STEM professionals at the Johnson Space Center. Other science and math-based resources include Switcheroo Zoo, Mystery Science, Khan Academy, ST Math and Cool Math for Kids.

The article posted on The Boothbay Register article also urges readers to check out all the art museums featuring virtual tours and galleries, such as The Metropolitan Opera, Guggenheim Museum, Musée d'Orsay, Van Gogh Museum, The Louvre, The MET, The Dali Museum and National U.S. Air Force Museum.

“While nothing beats a good old hardback or paperback, young students can still access resources to help maintain continuity with literacy outside the classroom. The Teach Your Monster To Read app is a good place to start with new readers or students who need some practice. The PC version is free and the mobile app has been made available free for a limited time. More resources for literacy can be found at Into the Book, Seussville, ABC Ya, Storyline Online and Growing Book by Book,” the article reads on.

There are also crash course that provides learning experiences for students on subjects ranging from anatomy to world history and nearly everything in between. More general educational resources and entertaining activities and games include Busy Kids Do Piano (promo code PIANOATHOME gets you one month free), Fun Brain and Cosmic Kids Yoga.

Several zoos and museums have closed as people need to stay out of large crowds. Some have been providing live webcam feeds or archive footage of certain exhibits while others give more of a virtual experience. Cincinnati Zoo is known for Fiona the hippo and Atlanta Zoo for its giant panda cam. Houston Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Georgia Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium also have animal cams.

Short-term curriculum resources are available through HowApp Bravery Magazine, a free four-week homeschool curriculum, and Scholastic Learn at Home which is 20 days of free articles, stories, videos, and challenges. 

Further educational games and activities: Highlights Kids, Smithsonian for Kids, Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids and several PBS programs including PBS Kids Video (App), PBS Kids Live TV and PBS Kids Games (App).

The British Museum, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The Great Wall of China, Space Center Houston and the Mars Rover give a well-rounded virtual experience of the prehistoric to the space age while FarmFood 360 tours gives insight into farm life and where it is heading in the 21st century. Bunk History has become popular for its attempts at “rewiring history” and does a fantastic job providing riveting material on a wide range of subjects.

There are thousands of ivy league-tier courses to browse and many health and wellness tools like DownDogApp and its other apps Yoga for Beginners, HIIT, Barre, and 7 Minute Workout all of which are free until April 1.

“Be sure to check out ebook, audiobook, comics, music and films app Hoopla which should be accessible through your Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library number. And if you’re thinking about picking up a new language, try Duolingo!” the article concludes.