Things to do

Things to do

Things to do

How to explore the outside world while you are physically distancing or self-isolating

We all must do our part to assist in stopping the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).  One way we can do this is through physical distancing, or self-isolating.

So, what can we do when we can’t get out into the world?

Learn Something New | Museums & Art Galleries | Events & Performing Arts | Virtual Tours

Learn something new

The State Library of Queensland is temporarily closed to the public, but their online services will remain unchanged. They encourage you to continue to visit them online to access thousands of free eresources – ebooks, newspapers, journals, films and other resources from home using your Library card. If you are not already a member, it’s easy to sign up online and access is immediate.

You can learn a new skill with Lynda.com and explore State Library’s fascinating exhibitions, digital stories and resources to research your family history.

State Library’s reference librarians will continue to provide their Ask Us service, staff can help answer your questions and offer research assistance. 

If you’re looking to expand your use of technology to stay connected while physically distancing, or you want to help guide someone else as they learn to get online, eSafety’s Be Connected  website, and their article Social distancing without the isolation: helping older Australians connect online provide some resources.

 

Museums and Art Galleries

You can enjoy virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the famous museums around the world with over 2500 museums and galleries accessible online.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea is showing meet the curators chats on YouTube.

Rijksmuseum is home to Dutch masters: Vermeer’s Milkmaid, Van Gogh’s Self-portrait and Rembrandt’s most well-known painting: the Night Watch.

You can also take a virtual tour of the Vatican Museums and see the rest of Vatican City with a You Visit tour, take an interactive tour of the Guggenheim, Bilbao or the Museu de Arte de São Paulo in Brazil, see the works of French masters at Musée d’Orsay, Paris, explore some of the British Museum‘s exhibits in depth, or tour the Natural History Museum, or the National Gallery, London. You might like to Follow cameras on Google Maps throughout the Melbourne Museum.

 

Events and Performing Arts

Stay at Home Fest harnesses the power of the internet for good, by creating a central hub to find all the fantastic decentralized events that are happening online, and aiding music discovery during the global pandemic.

View the calendar here: www.stayathomefest.com – note North American time zones may apply.

Social Distancing Festival is drawing live streaming performances together in one place.

Keen on singing? Karaoke camp is a 24hr online karaoke party free for anyone to join on Zoom.

If you’re a classical music fan, there is a list here from ClassicFM in the UK of concerts that are being livestreamed, or that have been made available online.

Queensland Performing Arts Centre has posted a list of performances available online, including opera and ballet, music, and theatre.

The Australia Ballet hand-picked a selection of their best loved ballets, and is providing each for free for a limited two-week season on their streaming platform, Ballet TV.

Classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals will be live-streamed for free on YouTube channel The Shows Must Go On each weekend. Each show will be available from 7pm BST (4am Queensland time) and will remain available to watch for 48 hours.

 

Virtual tours

Fancy a trip to the zoo?  If you are feeling like you could use a top up of the warm and fuzzies you can now live stream into Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo.

While Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is temporarily closed, you can watch the animals on their webcams. 

You can also take virtual tours of some famous landmarks including

If gardens are your thing, you can find a list of YouTube virtual tours of gardens of the world here on House Beautiful and some more here on Gardens Illustrated.