See the World Without Leaving Your House

Here are some of my favorite resources that keep me engaged, active, and connected while social distancing.

Culture Tours and Shows

Virtual Museum Tours—Visit and tour over 1,000 museums from the comfort of your couch, where flash photography is permitted but not advised. 

Tour Versailles—Spend hours virtually touring the splendor of Versailles, from its rich history to its even more rich decor.

The Met Opera—Applaud from your living room with nightly opera streams. The show must go on!  

Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest—Watch and listen closely as this symphony creates Beethoven 9 from their homes in this incredible video. 

Brush Up on Art History at The Met with Kathryn Galitz

The Making of a Masterpiece—Kathryn Calley Galitz, art historian and Educator at The Met, discusses Jacques Louis David’s painting, “Death of Socrates” (1787).

Neoclassical Musings Brush with Power: François Gérard, Imperial Portraitist—Galitz examines the Neoclassical style as crafted by François Gérard in a magisterial group of portraits of Napolean I and his extended family.

Neoclassical Musings—Galitz explores the legacy and relevance of classicism in today’s world. 

“Explore” Nature

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams—My personal favorite is the penguin cam!

SkyWatching Tips From NASA—If you get a chance to step outside, NASA has some tips for where to look for the celestial action. 

Explore Top US National Parks With Google Arts & Culture—Carlsbad Caverns, Bryce Canyon, and Dry Tortugas are just some of the featured national parks.  

San Diego Zoo Live Cams—You can choose from a koala cam featuring the zoo’s animals to an art project video where your little one can make their own fuzzy friend.

Online Classes and Resources 

The Barnes Foundation—In short videos, Barnes curators, scholars, and educators talk straight from the shoulder about some of their favorite works in the collection.

Yale University, “The Science of Well Being”—The course is designed to leave you with gratitude, happiness, and ultimately prepared to successfully incorporate uplifting activities into your daily life.

Duolingo—The notorious green parrot can help you and your family learn a new language together. I might suggest a Game of Thrones rewatch paired with a lesson in High Valyrian? 

JSTOR—This digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources is offering some of their material free of charge.

Let’s Get Physical

The Class by Taryn Toomey—Live classes of this wildly popular practice that involves stretch, movement, and dance, are streamed daily. 

The Sculpty Society by Megan Roup—Tone up and get moving with popular NYC trainer, Megan Roup’s online classes. 

QuarantineCal—If you need to get moving, QuranatineCal has a list of live, online events  from sound baths to virtual dance parties. 

My Favorite Mind-Expanding Podcasts

The Tim Ferris Show—The New York Times calls Tim Ferris, “A cross between Jack Welch and a Buddhist monk.” I agree!

Revisionist History—Malcolm Gladwell goes back and reinterprets something overlooked and misunderstood from the past. My favorite episode is, “Hallelujah,” How Does Genius Emerge? (Ep.7,S1)

WorkLife with Adam Grant—Each weekly episode of WorkLife with Adam Grant centers around extraordinary people at work – from the team at Pixar who broke boundaries with The Incredibles, to Olympic athletes who cheer for their rivals.

Enjoy Cooking and Eating Dinner 

Jessica Seinfeld—What do you want to make for breakfast/lunch/dinner? Jessica Seinfeld has great recipes that are easy to find on her blog and will make the house smell incredible.

JD Hilburn—In his own words, “I’m not going to write anything you can simply Google search. This is a place you can peer over my shoulder and see what I’m up to.” Hilburn’s website includes cooking trials and errors as well as his list of everyday staples and kitchen essentials.

NYC Chef Frank Prisinzano—His menu’s are well-known throughout the East Village, but you can have a taste of what it’s like to cook in his kitchen through his Instagram Highlights. I’ll warn you, you might catch yourself laughing alone. 

For the Kids

NASA Stem Engagement—Your kid will feel like they are in a different dimension with activities such as “launching rockets” and building Moon habitats. 

The Kennedy Center—Artist-in-Residence at Home, Mo Willems, has daily “Lunch Doodles” at 1 pm EST. 

Save With Stories—Save the Children Foundation and No Kid Hungry have started a partnership to offer entertaining online stories for all children while they are home. 

Mental Health Resources

Child Mind Institute—The Child Mind Institute’s digital response to the coronavirus includes daily Facebook video chats with clinicians, remote evaluations and telemedicine, and resources for parents.

10 Percent Happier—This app created a free Coronavirus Sanity Guide which includes meditations, blog posts, podcasts, and talks.

Headspace—Headspace Plus memberships are now free to U.S. health professionals working in public health settings and they also have additional free Headspace resources for educators and for employers.

New York State Office of Mental Health— New Yorkers can call the Office of Mental Health’s Emotional Support Hotline to connect with a volunteer with training in crisis counseling.