What to Do While the Library is Closed

Even though the library is currently closed, there are many ways to keep busy and entertained at home through the internet. Below are just some of the ways we have found that you might enjoy. Check back often for additions and follow us on Facebook as well.
Kids Activities, Story time & Reading
- Learn About Music with Inspector Pulse: from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Fridays at 11:00am ET
- Watch Disney Fireworks, Musicals and More!
- Online Digital Escape Rooms: a comprehensive list of rooms for all ages across the web from libraries and other sources
- Storytime with Pierce Cedar Creek Institute & the Library: join us via Zoom for a live storytime. The first is April 24th @ 10:30am with more planned every other week
- Free Audiobooks for Children, Tweens and Teens: from Audible.com
- Stay at Home Scavenger Hunt BINGO for the Whole Family
- Learn to Draw Disney Characters!
- Code.org: Coding fun for kids
- Free Drawing Classes from Famous Illustrators
- Mo Willems: Lunch Doodles at 1:00pm via YouTube
- Jarrett J. Krosoczka: Draw with JJK at 2:00pm via YouTube
- Mr. Jon & Friends: daily musical livestreams
- Storyline Online: Storybook videos
- Scratch: an online programming language from MIT to help kids learn coding
Educational Resources
PebbleGo Health: help kids with fundamental health, safety and emotional concepts, available through 8/31/2020
- Britanica Online, WorldBook and More!: resources available for learning at home through Mel.org. All are available through May 31 with some extended through August 15!
- Online Learning from Gale: Check out
with learning resources for kids ages 3-6.
Find more educational resources for children all the way through college - Scholastic Learn at Home: learning materials and projects with more coming for grades pre-K - 6+
- NatGeo@Home: education portal from National Geographic for all ages
- Smithsonian: see 8 newly released resources for students and teachers
- HUGE List of Free Educational Resources While Schools are Closed
Books, Books and more Books!
- Free Digital Comics: from DC, Marvel and more
- Free Audiobooks for Children, Tweens and Teens: from Audible.com
- Librivox: free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers
- The Internet Archive: 1.4 million free books
- Storyline Online: Storybook videos
Museums & Education
- Tour the Dali Museum in Florida
- British Museum puts almost 1.9 Million Images Online: browse the museum's vast collection, see images and access lessons about the items
- Virtual Tours of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
- 12 Museums Around the World with Virtual Tours
Online Classes
- New York Botanical Garden Online Courses:Botanical Watercolor, Botanical Embroidery, Introduction to Plant Science and much more
- Photography Classes: Photography Life placed all of their premium online courses on YouTube for free (normally $150 each)
- MoMa Art Classes: learn about modern art directly from the Museum of Modern Art
- Learn to Paint with Bob Ross on the Joy of Painting: watch every episode with Bob on YouTube, learn to paint and listen to his soothing voice.
- 100 Online Courses from Coursera: free through May 31st
- Free Ivy League School Classes Online
Science & Nature
75 Scientific Research Projects You Can Contribute to Online: from Smithsonian magazine
- Virtual Tour of the International Space Station
- Learn About Michigan Wildflowers: from Pierce Cedar Creek Institute - Part 1 of 4, access the rest on Pierce Cedar Creek Institute's YouTube channel
- NASA at Home: virtual tours, podcasts, eBooks and more
- Tour Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
- Nature Live Streams
- Zoo & Aquarium Live Videos
- Butterfly Exhibit at Frederick Meijer Gardens
- Virtual Field Trips
Movies
- Batmobile Documentary: from Warner Brothers
Watch three films originally released for large screens like IMAX®
- Netflix Documentaries: check out lots of free videos from Netflix on YouTube
Music
- John William Movie Music Tribute Concert: from the Orange County Pacific Symphony, hear music from Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and more - available until July 14.
- Artist Series: recorded concerts from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Sundays at 5:00pm ET
- ‘Prince and the Revolution: Live’ Streaming Event: over three nights on YouTube starting May 14th at 8:00pm ET
- List of Music Livestreams & Virtual Concerts: from Billboard.com
- Best Piano Concertos: from udiscovermusic.com
- Austin City Limits: stream more than 35 free episodes with your favorite musicians
- Free Online Concerts: Check out this list of available or announced free online concerts to stay entertained while at home on the couch
- Free Online Classical Music Concerts: actively updated
Theater
- Metropolitan Opera: See daily live streams from their catalog
- Shakespeare Plays from the Globe Theater
Games
-
Hogwarts Digital Escape Room: from the Peters Township Public Library in McMurray, PA.
- Internet Arcade: Play Classic Arcade Games in Your Web Browser. Find classics like Defender, Joust, Q*bert and many more!
- Online Digital Escape Rooms: a comprehensive list of rooms for all ages across the web from libraries and other sources
- Prometheus Escape Room: Can you solve this digital mystery and escape? Created by youth librarian Paige Brandli. For Teens and Adults
Miscellaneous
- Virtually Travel Pure Michigan: from PureMichigan.org
- Watch Disney Fireworks, Musicals and More!
- Ancestry.com Research: Access Ancestry just like you can when at the library. You must have your library card and PIN. Currently access is through June 30th but if it is extended we will update this page.
- Planet Fitness Free Workouts: Watch live streamed in-home workouts on their Facebook page at 7:00pm ET
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activities