Social Distancing Doesn’t Have to be Boring
Staying at home to control and flatten the curve is an incredible act of compassion and responsibility, and the community benefits – but it can be overwhelming, even if you feel fine. Thankfully, all around the world, online resources are popping up to assist you in making this time a little more bearable. Scroll through the links below and check back for updates!
Last updated at 5:34 pm 6/20/2020
Resources for Readers
- Libby by Overdrive – Arkansas City residents can access the sunflower eLibrary using their library card number.
- Kansas eLibrary – The State Library of Kansas provides free ebooks, audiobooks, and other resources for residents of Kansas. Log in with your Kansas eCard login to access the large collection. If you do not have a Kansas eCard, please contact kricherson@acpl.org.
- NoveList Plus – a comprehensive reader’s advisory resource. Find read-a-likes!
- Storyline Online – a great replacement for storytime! Favorite children’s books read by celebrities.
- Audible – thousands of titles for kids absolutely free to download and listen to, for as long as schools are closed.
- Gutenberg – Free ebooks
- Children’s classics – Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book, etc
- Free Classic Literature and Poetry – a list of free classics sites
- Bibliomania – Free online literature
- Many Books – 50,000+ free ebooks and highly discounted bestsellers, by genre
- Open Library – free ebooks by genre
- National Emergency Library – 1.4 million ebooks available without holds
- (NEW!) Tumblebooks resources – This company has made TumbleBookLibrary, TumbleMath, TeenBookCloud, AudioBookCloud, and RomanceBookCloud FREE until August 31st, 2020. Access them by going to the “electronic resources” box on the catalog main page.
Free Manga
Genealogy Resources (free for Kansas residents)
For Artists
- Carson Ellis’s Quarantine Art Club – new challenge every weekday morning
- Comic Book Challenges with Jarrett Lerner
- Jarrett Krosoczka – Draw Every Day with JJK
- Wendy Macnaughton Live Art Classes on Instagram Live – every weekday at 10am
Virtual Field Trips
Go exploring from the comfort of your own home!
Go anywhere on Earth with Google Earth.
Live Streams – free live cam feed from famous places or faces, some of them are temporary, one-of-a-kind live streams in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Alaska Wildlife Cams
- Cooking Classes on Facebook Live – every day at 10am
- Georgia Aquarium
- Live Concert Streams
- Mo Williams Facebook Live Lunch Doodles – every day at 1pm
- Monterey Bay Aquarium – 11am to 11pm Central US Time
- San Diego Zoo
- Tennessee Aquarium
- Wendy Macnaughton Live Art Classes on Instagram Live – every weekday at 10am
Museums
- Arts and Culture by Google – Museum Exhibits, tours, etc. 1,000s to explore!
- British Museum in London – Explore their exhibits with an interactive timeline map
- The Dali Museum (Florida)
- Louvre (France) has virtual exhibits and there is also a 360 tour of the building.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) – 360 video of inside areas set to calming music
- Musei Vaticani – Tour the Sistine Chapel and other rooms
- National Women’s History Museum has online exhibits
- Picasso Museum (Spain) has a virtual tour as well as a map of Barcelona during Picasso’s time.
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC)
- U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has online exhibits
National Parks
- Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
- Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
- Yosemite National Park (California)
Tourist Attractions & Landmarks
- Canadian Farms and Food Tours
- Disneyland (California)
- Disney World Rides – Take a virtual ride with interactive 360 video of many of the park’s famous rides!
- Disney World Street View
- Famous Theaters – Transport yourself to 11 of the world’s most famous stages and learn their history.
- Google – 360 street views of renowned spots like the Taj Mahal, The Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, and more.
- Great Wall of China
- Ireland – This website has 1000s of interactive 360 tours of places in Ireland
- NASA Langley Research Center
- Royal Botanical Gardens (England) – 360 views available on streetview
Unique Virtual Experiences
- Access Mars – The real surface of Mars recorded by NASA’s Curiosity Rover.
- NASA’s free Space Center Houston app lets people explore virtual reality experiences, take astronaut selfies, and follow along through an audio tour of its educational space center.
Online Games
Educational
Kid-friendly Interface
- ABCya!
- Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government
- Chrome Music Lab
- Coding with Star Wars
- Farmer’s Almanac Kids
- Funbrain (math and reading for K – 8th grade)
- National Geographic Kids
- San Diego Zoo Kids
- Smithsonian Educational Activities and Lessons for Kids
- Starfall Phonics (Pre-k – 3rd grade)
- NASA Climate Kids
All Ages
- Bunk History, Digital archives and exhibits of interesting truths about the past
- Coursera – free online courses
- Crash Course – a YouTube channel dedicated to providing high quality educational videos
- Duolingo – free language learning app
- edx – free online courses
- Explore Countries of the World
- Ivy League Courses – a list of 450 online college courses you can take for free (doesn’t earn actual credits)
- Smithsonian Ocean
- What Was There – Put in a location and discover how it looked in the past
Parents & Teachers – online resources to help fill the potential gap in learning caused by the unexpected school closures
- 123 Homeschool (Free printable worksheets)
- All Kids Network (Free printable activities for all ages)
- Bedtime Math (make math a part of your daily routine)
- Big History Project
- Biology Simulations
- Breakout EDU
- Busy Toddler (indoor activities for toddlers)
- BWS Education Consulting – Test Prep for ACT, SAT, etc
- Chem Matters (High School Chemistry)
- CK-12 Online Courses
- Clickschooling (Free curriculum ideas for web-based learning)
- Financial Literacy
- GoNoodle (combinding movement with mindfulness from child development experts)
- Khan Academy
- Maker Stations at Home
- Math Score (From counting to Algebra & Geometry)
- Scholastic Learn at Home
- Science podcasts to listen to with your kids
- Starfall Educational Resources