[updated 11/25/2020]

Quarantine, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo is upon us. As the latest wave of COVID-19 ravages the world, self-quarantine, shelter in place, and physical distancing are all very important things we can do to keep ourselves and our fellow humans safe. 😷 It’s a very stressful and unusual time, and many of us could really use a distraction, a chance to learn something new, or even playtime—for kids and adults alike. 🎉

Our very awesome social media and marketing team scoured the interwebs for 100% FREE things to do while you’re being a responsible citizen and excellent member of your community by staying home. 🏠

connect with new people

1. Join publisher A Public Space’s virtual summer book club: https://apublicspace.org/events/detail/apstogether with daily content on https://www.instagram.com/apublicspace/?hl=en
2. Take a daily baking lesson from Milk Bar pastry chef Christina Tosi: https://www.instagram.com/christinatosi/channel/
3. See former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck’s latest book club pick: https://andrewluckbookclub.com/ (also https://twitter.com/albookclub, https://www.facebook.com/AndrewLuckBookClub/ and https://www.instagram.com/albookclub/ with hashtag #ALBookClub)
4. Jump in to a book club for romance novels: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/not-your-moms-romance-book-cluband https://www.instagram.com/notyourmomsrom
5. Professional mixologists offer daily mixology classes and socializing via Zoom: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlc-mvqzsvQvTKc9TPQEa-MEbCgixAdw

connect with your community

1. Join your local Buy Nothing group on FB, and give and receive FREE items from your immediate neighbors: https://www.facebook.com/BuyNothingProject
2. Watch a show with your (distanced) friends on Netflix Party: https://www.netflixparty.com
3. Play Words with Friends: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/words-with-friends-classic/id321916506 and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zynga.words&hl=en_US
4. Draw together (or brainstorm creatively) in real-time in your web browser: https://aggie.io
5. Meet up on an illumy video chat for drinks. Alcohol delivery is available in many parts of the country: just Google “cocktail delivery [your town name].”
6. Several national news outlets got rid of paywalls for COVID-19-related news (some even eliminated paywalls altogether):
   • New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com
   • Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com
   • Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com
   • Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com
   • The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us

connect with your household

do things together

1. Build a DIY projector using your smartphone (and $4 in materials): https://thistlewoodfarms.com/how-to-make-your-phone-into-a-projector/
2. Become an expert in music theory: https://www.musictheory.net/lessons
3. Help your child learn the basics of guitar: http://www.kidsguitarzone.com/
4. Launch your own kids’ virtual book club: https://redtri.com/how-to-start-a-kids-virtual-book-club/
5. Learn how to make dozens of origami animals: https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/origami2/exploring01_04.html
6. Browse conversations, performances and how-tos on Creative Live’s 24/7 stream: https://www.creativelive.com/tv
7. Game, totally free, with titles from the ever-growing Steam library: https://store.steampowered.com/genre/Free%20to%20Play/
8. Download environmental lesson plans and resources from Salisbury University’s Ward Museum: https://www.wardmuseum.org/learn-explore/education/virtual-learning/kids-activities-and-lesson-plans/
9. Learn to solve the Rubik’s cube: http://www.cubingmke.com and https://www.rubiks.com/en-us/solve-it
10. Make up a board game: https://blog.ed.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Pen-Pen-Chen-TED-Ed-Innovation-Project-Game-Changing-Kids-additional-material.pdf
11. Get educational lessons tailored by age: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk
12. Ravelry is a free resource for knitters, at any skill level: https://www.ravelry.com/
13. “Play” 128 different instruments with an online synthesizer: https://midi.city/
14. Great coding resources for kids: https://mommypoppins.com/coding-kids-free-websites-teach-learn-programming
15. Watch Bill Nye, the Science Guy: https://www.billnye.com/home-demos
16. Bake bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWOJovFzWfw
17. Draw in chalk on the sidewalk: https://lifeasmama.com/10-sidewalk-chalk-ideas-thatll-keep-kids-enterained-for-hours

watch together

1. Watch acclaimed films and TV on Sundance Now—get 30 days free when you use the promo code SUNDANCENOW30: https://www.sundancenow.com
2. The Met Opera is streaming nightly: https://www.metopera.org
3. Get in the Broadway spirit with streamed shows: https://www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home and  https://playbill.com/article/26-more-on-stage-plays-and-musicals-to-watch-from-your-couch
4. Lots of artists are holding livestreams and virtual concerts: https://www.vividseats.com/streams/
5. Stream movies on YouTube for free (with ads): https://www.youtube.com/feed/storefront?bp=kgEmCGQSIlBMSFBUeFR4dEMwaWJWWnJUMl9XS1dVbDJTQXhzS3VLd3iiBQIoBQ%3D%3D
6. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is streaming past performances: https://livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv/browse
7. Watch The Met’s YouTube videos: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project

explore together

1. Tour the UK’s lavish Blenheim Palace: https://www.blenheimpalace.com/stayconnected/
2. Visit Holyrood House—the Queen’s home in Scotland: https://www.royal.uk/virtual-tours-palace-holyroodhouse
3. Browse the Smithsonian’s vast array of resources for kids: https://www.si.edu/kids
4. Watch productions from the UK’s National Theatre: https://www.youtube.com/user/ntdiscovertheatre
5. Museum of Fine Arts Houston Virtual Experience: https://www.mfah.org/visit/mfah-virtual-experience/
6. Take a virtual tour of the Chateau de Versailles: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/resources/virtual-exhibitions
7. Virtually visit a National Park with the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/find-your-virtual-park.htm
8. Embark on a “Home Safari” with videos and activities from the Cincinnati Zoo: http://cincinnatizoo.org/home-safari-resources/
9. Watch roller coaster rides like you’re in them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMMiZFPYg6M and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN8nv4tVFuA
10. Visit the Boston Children’s Museum without even leaving your living room. https://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/museum-virtual-tour
11. Explore the surface of Mars with this digital 360° camera: https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
12. Check out the British Museum’s collection of treasures from your couch: https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
13. Tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase via Google Street View: googlestreetview/guggenheim
14. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. features two online exhibits through Google: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-gallery-of-art-washington-dc?hl=en
15. You can virtually walk through the Musée d’Orsay in Paris: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris?hl=en
16. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-museum-of-modern-and-contemporary-art-korea?hl=en
17. Pergamon Museum in Berlin: googlestreetview/pergamon
18. Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/van-gogh-museum?hl=en
19. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-j-paul-getty-museum?hl=en
20. Uffizi Gallery in Florence: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/uffizi-gallery?hl=en
21. Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/masp?hl=en
22. Browse Google’s weekly recommendations of immersive cultural experiences: https://artsandculture.google.com/recommended?hl=en
23. Take a virtual farm tour: https://www.farmfood360.ca
24. Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s sea otters: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/sea-otter-cam
25. Tune in to an African wildlife cam: https://explore.org/livecams/african-wildlife/african-watering-hole-animal-camera
26. Virtually tour the Great Wall of China: https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china
27. Experience the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s virtual glider: https://ssec.si.edu/glider-guide
28. Explore Badlands National Park in South Dakota on Google Earth: googleearth/badlands
29. Check in with the National Zoo’s cheetah cubs: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams/cheetah-cub-cam
30. Look around Everglades National Park: googleearth/everglades
31. Take a virtual tour of the Cliffs of Moher: https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/virtual-visit-tour/
32. Roam Disney World: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/03/disney-parks-launches-first-ever-360-degree-panoramas-on-google-street-view/
33. Check out the Taj Mahal on Google: googleartsculture/tajmahal
34. Take a virtual stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a UNESCO World Heritage site: https://www.kew.org/about-us/virtual-kew-wakehurst
35. Explore the courtyard at the Dalí Museum: https://thedali.org/virtual-tour and check out more than 2,400 works by the artist: https://thedali.org/about-the-museum/history

Create your own scavenger hunt with the GooseChase app: https://www.goosechase.com/how-it-works/organizing/

connect with yourself

physically

1. Power through a new workout each day with OrangeTheory: https://www.orangetheory.com/en-us/athome/
2. Take an Instagram workout with a SoulCycle instructor (dozens of instructors to choose from): https://www.soul-cycle.com/news/offthebike
3. Try the Peloton app free for 30 days: https://www.onepeloton.com/app
4. Expand your yoga practice with weekly online classes from CorePower Yoga: https://www.corepoweryogaondemand.com/keep-up-your-practice
5. Echelon is offering a free 90-day trial of the FitPass app: https://echelonfit.com/pages/echelon-90-day-promo
6. Popular YouTuber Yoga with Adriene: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
7. Get expert coaching on running techniques with the Nike Run Club app: https://www.nike.com/nrc-app

mentally

1. Watch inspirational and motivational TED Talks: https://www.ted.com
2. Find your next read at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/
3. Learn calligraphy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBoVGqiSzr4
4. Listen to hundreds of public-domain audiobooks: https://librivox.org
5. Browse the New York Public Library’s 300,000+ books and audiobooks: https://www.nypl.org/books-music-movies/ebookcentral
6. Audible is offering a big selection of streaming audiobooks: https://stories.audible.com/discovery
7. Learn a new language with DuoLingo: https://www.duolingo.com
8. Take Yale’s course on the science of well-being: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being
9. Peruse the NASA media library: https://images.nasa.gov
10. Take Ivy League courses online: https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs
11. Get digital magazines from your local library with the RBDigital app: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-check-out-free-digital-magazines-from-your-library/ or the Libby app: https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/

just take a break

1. Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehab Cam: https://www.cmaquarium.org/webcams/sea-turtle-rehab-cam/
2. Tubi TV shows (free with ads): https://tubitv.com/home
3. IMDB free TV shows and movies: https://www.imdb.com/tv/
4. Calendar of free livestreams and virtual concerts: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9335531/coronavirus-quarantine-music-events-online-streams
5. Free kids’ shows on Amazon (no Prime membership needed): https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/storefront/ref=atv_hm_hom_1_c_ZWyNDQ_fMHI51_1_1?contentId=freeforall&merchId=freeforall
6. Thousands of children’s ebooks on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/search.php?sort=-loans__status__last_loan_date&query=openlibrary_work%3A%28%2A%29+AND+collection%3A%28inlibrary%29+AND+loans__status__status%3AAVAILABLE+AND+subject%3A%28Juvenile+Fiction%29
7. Listen to an astronaut read from space: https://storytimefromspace.com/
8. Stream virtual concerts: https://www.sofa-king-fest.com/
9. Live stream a beach cam: https://www.earthcam.com/usa/southcarolina/myrtlebeach/resort/?cam=seacrest and https://www.livebeaches.com/state/california

If you know of any other amazing free experiences, services, etc., tweet us @illumyinc and let us know!