I've been trying to sort and format this list to make it easier to find stuff,
but there's too much lol.
I'm posting it as is for now in order to allow people to use it
immediately, because we're all in need of diversity in our isolated day to deal
with COVID-19.
Some lists were scavenged from other sites, and I have credited them.
There are likely duplicates, because, well, too much good stuff.
ENJOY!
AUDIO BOOKS:
David Walliams Is
Releasing 30 Free Audio Books For Children
Neil Gaiman offers
tons of cool stuff for free for you to kill your time with
For the adults, his main website NeilGaiman.com
has a ton of cool stuff to download, read and listen to
For kids, head over to MouseCircus.com, The "Official Neil Gaiman Website For
Young Readers", where you can listen to the author read the entirety of
his best-selling The Graveyard Book on video
The Big List of
Children’s Authors Doing Online Read-Alouds & Activities
Mel’s Home with kids suggestions
A Mighty Girl: 50 Ways to Keep Kids Engaged at Home During
the Coronavirus Shutdown
Bestselling
Children’s Author Mo Willems Is Teaching Kids Drawing On YouTube
https://youtu.be/bhyCxVPb1qU
- drawing for kids (also posting on twitter under #DrawWithRob)
https://www.skypeascientist.com/
also on Twitter/Instagram
Animal House. Zoo livestream
MIT Free Courses
VIRTUAL TOURS
Take a virtual tour
of the Paris catacombs while you wait out the pandemic
Virtual Field Trips
virtual marine
biology camp to entertain and inform kid
Tour 2,500
World-Famous Museums
Museums
from around the world - Virtual, online tours
Access to 500 Museums & Art Galleries - Free,
online
Future
Learn - Explore the architecture and history of Rome, walking around a
3D digital model of the ancient city, with this free online course.
Virtual
Tours - Virtual online tours - including zoos, landmarks in foreign
countries, etc.
Aquarium –
Georgia aquarium allowing you to tour under the sea
Virtual farm trips - American dairy association
Virtual field trips - Created for children, but they look
great for adults too!
8 Museums You Can
Virtually Tour Right Now
1 The National
Portrait Gallery, London, England
Given that the National Portrait Gallery in London was set
to close later this year for renovations until at least spring of 2023, a
virtual tour of the famed museum really is the best route to take. Upon its
opening in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery became the very first portrait
gallery in the world. Expect to see portraits (who would’ve guessed) of prominent
people from throughout history, including the Brontë sisters — Charlotte,
Emily, and Anne — in a painting done by their brother, Patrick Branwell Brontë,
and the famous Chandos portrait, which is believed to depict William
Shakespeare.
2 The Frick Art
Museum, Pittsburgh, PA
If you’re into European paintings from the 1800s, and
Renaissance and Baroque bronze sculptures and paintings, then the Frick Art
Museum is right up your alley. Their collection includes works by artists like
Peter Paul Rubens, Apollonio Di Giovanni, Jan van Os, Carle Van Loo, Maurice
Quentin de la Tour, Arthur Devis, Jean-Louis de Marne, and Jan Steen. You can
also tour other Pittsburgh sites, like the Clayton Mansion.
3 The J. Paul Getty
Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Located at the Getty Center, the J. Paul Getty Museum is
home to a variety of works, including European decorative arts, paintings,
illuminated manuscripts, drawings, and sculptures. The renowned museum also
features Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art, ranging from the Neolithic era to Late
Antiquity, as well as international photography from the 20th and 21st centuries.
4 The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, NY
As the biggest museum of art in the United States, the Met
receives millions of visitors every year, making it one of the most visited art
museums in the world. From the comfort of your own home, you can enjoy virtual
tours of the Great Hall, the Temple of Dendur, the Charles Engelhard Court, and
the Arms and Armor Galleries, as well as the Met Cloisters and the Met Breuer.
The best part of these kinds of tours? No crowds!
5 The Van Gogh
Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Since 1973, the Van Gogh Museum has displayed the most
substantial collection of Vincent Van Gogh creations in the world, which
includes 700 letters, 400 drawings, and 200 paintings. This historic museum,
located in Amsterdam, received the most visitors of any museum in the
Netherlands in 2017, and that same year, the Van Gogh Museum ranked at number
23 on the list of most visited art museums worldwide. Some of the most famous
Vincent van Gogh paintings on display here are Self-portrait (1888), Sunflowers
(1889), and Almond Blossoms (1890).
6 Uffizi Gallery,
Florence, Italy
The Uffizi Gallery is located inside a Mannerist-style
building designed by famed painter, architect, and historian Giorgio Vasari (he
was the first to write about the Renaissance). The building took two decades to
complete, between 1560 to 1580. On this virtual tour, you will see ancient
artworks beginning with the Middle Ages, all the way through the Modern period.
Works from iconic artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and
Raphael are on view here. The Medici family has provided the gallery with
ancient statues and busts that are Roman duplicates of Greek sculptures that
were never found.
7 The São Paulo
Museum of Art, São Paulo, Brazil
No matter what you call it — the São Paulo Museum of Art,
Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or MASP — this landmark museum, designed by Linda
Bo Bardi, has plenty to see, whether you do so online or in real life. Although
it is most well known for its European art collection, the São Paulo Museum of
Art also offers an impressive array of Brazilian, African, and Asian art, totaling
over 8,000 items, and an art library that is one of the biggest in Brazil.
8 Musée d'Orsay,
Paris, France
The Musée d'Orsay is situated inside a Beaux Arts-style
building that was once a railroad station known as Gare d'Orsay, and later, a
hotel. The structure was built between 1898 and 1900, and the museum itself
boasts a wide range of magnificent French art, including furniture, paintings,
photographs, and sculptures. Paintings by greats like Renoir, Monet, Degas,
Manet, and van Gogh are on display throughout the museum.
Kinderling Fact
Detectives Podcast
Two curious kids on a mission to find out all the cool facts
about EVERYTHING
Story Time From Space
| T2 Science & Math Education Consultants
We send children’s books to the International Space Station.
While in space, astronauts are videotaping themselves reading these books to
the children of Earth. These videos are being edited and placed on this Story
Time From Space website- look under the heading ” Story Time Videos”.
Deep Pelagic Nekton
Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico – basically learn about life in the deep sea
10 University Art
Classes You Can Take for Free Online
The Wind in the
Willows West End production is available to stream online for free
The show stars Rufus Hound, Simon Lipkin and more
Online learning
University
of Alabama - Free online archaeology and Egyptology Uni courses
(create an account to log on)
Open
Learn - Free, online courses, Open university
BBC languages - Learn
languages online free
FrenchTeacher.Net -
Free French study packs
Sociology courses - Free online study
Creative courses - Free online study
Cambridge
University Press - ALL 700 textbooks are currently available FREE in
HTML format
Cambridge
university - Higher education resources
Royal institute - Christmas lectures. A series of
lectures presenting scientific subjects to a general audience in an entertaining
manner.
Learn 10 useful things to say in...
Periodic
videos - Science-related YouTube videos
Infobase databases and video streaming collections - Username: JCS_Distance
and Password: learning to access:
Geography and nature
Tutorful -
Top Geography websites, YouTube videos, and resources
Project Noah –
Global site where you can view and share wildlife
Seterra -
Free world geography, online quizzes
Online
film festival - Resistance in the Rainforest
MUSIC
*Check the location/time zones of live-streamed concerts to
calculate the UK start time. Time
Zone calculator
Concerts
online - Various concerts held without audiences to stream online
for people having to stay at home - list of
live streaming concerts
Free Opera - Dates confirmed until the end of
March. Check the website via the link for future dates to be added
Free classical orchestras - Live streaming
performances
Free Chamber music - Live streaming
Berlin Philharmonic orchestra - Live streams and
performance archive
Announcements/lists - of worldwide performances being
streamed
Livestream concerts list - artists and bands
Bands and artists - streaming performances
Full-length concerts - watch online free
Celebrities performing on social media
Facebook
Virtual Choir - Duet with a choir online
Arts and culture
J P
Brewer - View classic paintings online
Walter's Museum - houses the highest artistic
achievements from nearly every corner of the world. View some of the past,
present, and future exhibitions
Google
Arts and culture - Learn something new every day!
British Museum - Free videos
BBC Radio 4 - The History of the world - podcasts
50 things that made modern economy - Podcasts
Marquee TV
- streaming arts and culture
Literature online
Gutenburg -
Download free books, e.g. Shakespear, Edgar Allen Poe, Frankenstein, etc.
Solomon
Kingsnorth - Books in PDF, Word and audiobook format - Alice in
Wonderland / Wind in the Willows / The Railway Children / The Jungle Book /
Peter Pan / Black Beauty
Read great literature online - Free Ebooks, poetry,
classic literature
Read
Free Literature - also includes study guides
50,000 free ebooks - arranged by genre
Open
Library Access - Free
Audible stories - Free during this period
Entertainment
Expeditions
App- Free virtual Reality Augmentation app for all ages, to take virtual
trips around the world to hundreds of destinations.
Podcasts -
Free to download
Board Game arena - Play board games online free
Miscellaneous
UK
parliament - Politics, history, citizenship, etc. Written
for children and young people, but lots of very interesting information,
including how laws are made.
Historical
association - Learn about 20th Century history
National Trust sites - Free access to their sites -
please check their website first for updates
James Dyson foundation - Challenge cards - how many
can you complete?
Latest
free stuff - UK site (if you are outside of the UK, google 'latest free
stuff' and add your location)
Anxiety/Mental health
The Ultimate Guide to
Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections
PORTALS
Archaeological
Analytics: Archaeological Open Access Collections
ArtUK: Art collections from
3,200 UK organizations
Arte.tv: Cultural
documentaries, films, and more.
BioExplora:
Natural science open collections portal (3D images, bio diversity)
China’s National Cultural
Heritage Administration: Virtual portal of 100 institutions
Creative
Commons: Aggregates all CC-licensed content and collections globally
Digital
Agnes: Canadian portal for curatorial research and online exhibitions
DPLA: Digital Public Library of
America
Europeana:
50,000,000 European works of art, books, music, and more
English
Heritage: Variety of mediums of British content (Podcasts, videos, etc.)
Global Museum:
Portal for museum news, jobs, and resources
Google
Arts & Culture: +2,000 museum partners from +80 countries
Heritage
on the Edge: A project of Google Arts & Culture
Memorica: Open
access Mexican culture content portal
Mexican Ministry
of Culture: Short films, books, radio, paintings, from cultural orgs
MIMO:
Musical Instrument Museums Online (64,000+ instruments)
Museum Crush: Select
objects from a variety of museums
NASA Image & Video
Library: All NASA content is in the public domain
NISE
(National Informal Science Education): Digital library of STEM DIY
resources
Open
Culture Coloring Pages: 113 museum coloring books
OpenGLAM:
Aggregates 88 unique open collections
Paris
Museums: Over 300,000 works
Project Gutenberg:
60,000 free ebooks
Science
Museum Group: 325,000+ objects from 5 UK science museums
SHOW ME: Games,
collections, videos, stories from museums and galleries
Smithsonian Open
Access: Search 2.8 million images and 3D Models
V21ArtSpace:
Over 100 exhibit virtual tours
Wikidata:
“The Sum of all Paintings” metadata initiative via Wikimedia
Wikimedia
Commons: Over 20,000,000 open images
York
Museums Trust: Collections from various museums in Yorkshire, UK
VIRTUAL TOURS /
ONLINE EXHIBITS
Art and Culture
Museums
Arizona
State Museum: Virtual Tour
Byzantine and
Christian Virtual Museum: Virtual Tour
Cranbrook
Art Museum, Michigan: Exhibit Virtual Tours
Dalí
Theatre-Museum, Catalonia: Virtual Tour
Finnish
Art Gallery: Virtual Tour
The
Frick, Pittsburgh: Virtual tours, online collections, activities
Hallwyl
Museum, Stockholm: VR Tour
The
Hermitage, Russia: Virtual Tour (YouTube)
The Kremer Museum:
VR Tour (Requires download)
The
Louvre, Paris: Virtual Tour
Marshall M.
Fredericks Sculpture Museum: Virtual Tour
Pitt Rivers
Museum, University of Oxford: Virtual Tour
São Paolo
Museum of Art: Virtual Tour
Vatican
Museums: Virtual Tours
Vizcaya Museum
and Gardens: Virtual Tour
History Museums
Canadian Museum
of History: Virtual Tour
Cliffe
Castle Museum: Virtual Tour
Diefenbunker,
Canada: Virtual Tours, Coloring Pages
Florence as it Was:
3D models of Florentine buildings, artworks, and squares
George
Washington’s Mount Vernon: Virtual Tours, timelines, etc.
Mexican National
Institute of Anthropology & History: Virtual Tours (Flash)
Museum
of Flight: Virtual Tour
Museum of
the American Revolution: Virtual Tour
National
Archaeological Museum, Spain: Virtual Museum
National
Museum of the Great Lakes: Virtual Tour
National Museum
of the U.S. Air Force: Virtual Tour
Oakville
Museum at Erchless Estate: California, US Virtual Tour
The
Palace Museum: The Forbidden City, China, 360-degree Virtual Tour
Panhandle-Plains
Historical Museum: Virtual Tour
Railroad
Museum of Pennsylvania: 360-degree Equipment Tour
Thomas
Jefferson’s Monticello: Virtual Tour
Westminster
Abbey, London: Virtual Tour
Natural Science
Museums
Luxembourg
National Museum of National History: Virtual Tour
NASA Langley Research
Center: Virtual Tour
National
Museum of Computing, UK: Virtual Tour
National
Museum of Natural History, US: Virtual Tour
Oxford University
Museum of Natural History: Virtual Tour with audio commentary
Science
Museum, London: Shipping Galleries Virtual Tour
National Parks
American
Battlefield Trust: 360-degree Battlefield Tours
Valley
Forge National Park, US: Virtual Tour
Yellowstone
National Park, US: Virtual Tours
Yosemite National
Park, US: Virtual Tour
Online Exhibits
Canadian
Museum of History: Online Exhibitions
Canadian
Museum for Human Rights: Online Exhibits, Stories
Getty
Research Institute: Online Exhibit, “Bauhaus: Building the New Artist”
Girl
Museum: Online Exhibits
History
Colorado: Online Exhibits
JFK Library:
“Moonshot” App and Online Interactive
Koshland
Science Museum: Interactive Virtual Exhibits
M
Woods, Beijing, China: Experimental Online Exhibition
Mercer
Museum, Pennsylvania: Online Exhibits
Monterey Bay
Aquarium: Animal Live Cams
Museum of
the American Indian: “How American Indians Shaped US Identity”
Museum
of London: Online Exhibits
Museum
of Ontario Archaeology: “History of Ste. Marie II” Online Exhibit
Reina Sofía
Museum Radio: Audiovisual resources; an acoustic museum experience
Remembering
Lincoln, Ford’s Theatre: Interactive online exhibit
Second
Canvas Apps: 30 Museum Apps (Google Sheet)
State
Museum of Pennsylvania: Online Exhibits
Virtual
Migration Museum: Interactive Online Experience / App
Virtual
Museum of Canada: Virtual Exhibits and Cultural Content
E-LEARNING
Age of
Revolution: Interactive Timeline
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki
Museum: Activities, Coloring Pages
Better
World Museum: Draw Together in VR, Bob Ross-style videos
Bronx
Zoo: Field Sight
Cantor
Arts Center, Stanford University: videos, activities, online exhibits
Contemporary Jewish
Museum: Learn about Jewish history, art, and culture
Denver
Art Museum: Artist videos
Discover XR: The
Future of Social Media & Online Learning (YouTube)
The Field
Museum: The Brain Scoop (YouTube)
Les
Fruits de Mer: Activities, books, films about Caribbean wildlife
The
Hammer: Contemporary Art programs, (YouTube)
KaiXR: Free
Museum VR Field Trips (no VR gear needed)
HistoryView.org:
Virtual Reality Tours
Mount
Vernon: Online Learning Resources
Museum
of the American Revolution: Virtual Field Trip
Museum of Early Trade
and Crafts: Recipes, Games, Coloring Pages, etc.
Museum
Strathroy-Cardoc: Sydenham River Discovery online exhibit (Flash)
North Carolina
Museum of Art: Learn, (collections, videos, curriculum)
The
Ringling: Lesson Plans and Read-Alongs
Royal Albert
Memorial Museum: Exeter Time Trail (Interactive timeline)
The
Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza: Interactive Timeline
Sketchfab:
3D Models (link goes to cultural-specific search)
Speed Art
Museum: At-home art-making videos
Virginia
Museum of History & Culture: Lecture series videos
Created for Kids
American Museum
of Natural History: Ology science website for kids
The Andy Warhol
Museum: Online Lessons
Canadian
Museum of Nature: Coloring Pages, Arctic, Garden, Dinosaurs
Children’s
Discovery Museum of San Jose: Projects and Activities
Children’s
Museum of South Dakota: Recipes for Play
The
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis: Museum at Home
Exploratorium:
Science Experiment “Snacks”
Frist Kids:
Art activities and videos
Glazer
Children’s Museum: Online Activities
iCivics: Virtual
games (free beginning with Covid-19)
International
Association of Children in Museums: Coronavirus Guide
The
Kennedy Center: ArtsEdge, art education resources
Long Island
Children’s Museum: Play Outside Ideas
MCA Chicago:
“Art Like Me” Culturally-Relevant Art Workbook for Kids
Metropolitan
Museum of Art: MetKids
Monterey
Bay Aquarium: Games, Activities, Coloring Pages
National Museum
of Australia: “Fun at Home” DIY activities
Norton
Simon Museum: Art Projects for Kids (scroll to section)
Pittsburgh
Children’s Museum: The MAKESHOP Show (Makerspace Blog)
Rhino Palast:
Games and Information (German only)
Roald
Dahl Museum: Make Stories Like Roald Dahl
Shedd
Aquarium: Sea Curious- Kid Questions, Animal Answers (YouTube)
Smarthistory: Source
of history content for Khan Academy
Speed Art
Museum: Art Projects for Kids
Suzhou
Museum: Online Mini-Games
Tate: Tate
Kids (Games and quizzes, videos, kids’ art, etc.)
ONLINE COLLECTIONS
Art and Cultural
Collections
Akron Art
Museum, Ohio
Albright-Knox,
New York
Art Institute of
Chicago, Illinois
The
Barnes Collection, Philadelphia
The
Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
Birmingham
Museums Trust, Birmingham, UK (art and history)
Cleveland
Museum of Art, Ohio
Clyfford Still
Museum, Denver
Cooper Hewitt,
New York (historical and contemporary design)
Corning
Museum of Glass, New York: Lectures, demos, glass blowing magic.
Crocker Art
Museum, California
Davison Art
Center, Wesleyan University
Eskenazi
Museum of Art, Indiana University
Georgia
O’Keeffe Museum, New Mexico
The
Guggenheim, New York
The
Hammer, LA (contemporary art)
The Khalili
Collections: 35,000 works of art
Kröller-Müller
Museum, The Netherlands
Kunstmuseum
Basel, Switzerland
Latino
Cultural Arts Center, Denver
M+
Collections: 5,000+ Cultural Objects
McMaster Museum
of Art, Canada
Mori Art Museum,
Tokyo
Munch Museum,
Oslo, Norway (art by Edvard Munch)
National
Museum of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Rainbow
Museum: Art and Photography
Rijksstudio:
Remix collections from Rijksmuseum
Sarmaya,
Mumbai
SMK Open: National
Gallery of Denmark Collections
Thyssen-Bornemisza
Museum, Madrid, Spain
Xul
Solar Museum, Argentina
Van
Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The
Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania
Walker Art
Center, Minneapolis (visual, performing, media arts)
The Walters,
Baltimore
Science Collections
History of
Science Museum, Oxford University
The
Horniman, UK
MIT
Museum, US
Museum of Natural
Sciences, Barcelona
Naturalis,
Netherlands: 40,000,000 natural science collections objects
Royal Ontario Museum,
Canada
History Collections
Brooklands
Museum, Surrey, UK (cars, motorcycles, aircraft)
Chicago
History Museum, Illinois
The
Henry Ford, Michigan
The
Museum of Flight, Seattle
New York
Archaeological Repository: Nearly 1,000,000 objects
South West
Collections, England
DIGITAL ARCHIVES
& LIBRARIES
American
Literature Portal, WikiSource
Arctos
Database: Access to 3 million specimens and observations in 210 collections
Bath Archives,
UK
Endangered Archives,
British Library
English
Literature Portal, WikiSource
Internet Archive: The
Wayback Machine, digitized film, books, music, etc.
JSTOR:
Open content search of research journals
Louisiana
Digital Library: 400,000+ digital items from archives, libraries, museums
Trove: National
Library of Australia images, books, newspapers, maps, etc.
New York
Public Library: 880,000+ digitized prints, manuscripts, videos, etc.
10 Awesome Animal
Livestreams
1) BELUGAS AND OTTERS AND PENGUINS, OH MY!: The Georgia
Aquarium has a number of live video streams which allow internet users to enjoy
the daily goings-on of the facility’s resident African penguins, beluga
whales, sea otters, and barrier reef-dwellers.
2) JELLY CAM: The Monterey Bay Aquarium website has a
similar line of marine livestreams, although their website also boasts a jellyfish livestream—and it’s surprisingly
enchanting.
3) GIANT PANDA CAM: What better way to while away your time
at home than keeping an eye on giant pandas Tian Tian and Mei Xiang at
the Smithsonian National Zoo in DC?
4) BALD EAGLE NEST CAM: This livestream—which is also filmed
in Washington DC—captures the daily nesting activity of two bald eagles named Mr. President and
First Lady.
5) GIRAFFES GALORE: In Texas, the Houston Zoo webcam allows
you to check up on the resident giraffes—and you can even control the angle
of the webcam from your computer.
6) HUMMINGBIRD WATCHING: An anonymous California homeowner
set up an online
livestream for Bella—a hummingbird that has been returning to the same tree
since 2005.
7) MAN’S BEST VIRTUAL FRIEND: This livestream from the
Warrior Canine Connection allows users to admire puppies that are training to be
service dogs for veterans.
8) ADMIRE THE ANIMALS OF AFRICA: As a means of raising
awareness on the problems of poaching, the Tembe Live Wildlife webcam monitors a popular watering hole
that is often visited by elephants, giraffes, and buffalo in the bushlands of
Africa.
9) SENIOR DOG STREAM: If you’re not already hip to the
awesome activities at the Old Friends Senior Dogs Home, this livestream allows you to get a sneak-peek inside the
retirement home for elderly pups.
10) CRITTERS FROM DOWN UNDER: The Melbourne Zoo recently
kicked off their #AnimalsAtHome livestream initiative by installing active
webcams in their lion, snow leopard, giraffe, and penguin enclosures.
Many lists on here
available on:
