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8 Virtual Activities for the Bored Quarantiner

8 Virtual Activities for the Bored Quarantiner

With the coronavirus outbreak and everyone having to stay at home, it can be really easy to feel isolated, overwhelmed and quite frankly, flat out bored. Fortunately, though, there are plenty of fun virtual activities to do while we’re all social distancing and doing our part to flatten the curve. Check out some of our favorites below:


1. Tour Museums

Have you ever wanted to visit famous museums but couldn’t because of coronavirus travel bans? If so, now’s your chance! The British Museum, the Louvre, and the Van Gogh Museum, among several others, are offering free virtual tours (we liked this complete directory of tours) so you can see beautiful art and interesting historical sights and museums straight from your living room.

UPDATE! New link to virtual tours: https://upgradedpoints.com/virtual-tours-of-national-parks-in-us.


2. Watch Animal Live Cams

If there’s one thing that makes everyone smile, it’s animals. Check out live cams from the Smithsonian National Zoo, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and many more with just the click of a button. DID YOU KNOW? Even April the Giraffe, right in our backyard at Animal Adventure in Harpursville, is on live cam!


3. Livestream Concerts

Desperate for some quarantines? If that sounds like you, click here for a schedule of live streamed concerts from icons like Charli XCX or Death Cab for Cutie. Also, you can watch some musicians on Facebook Live, so be sure and check those out too!  If you’re more of an opera fan, the Metropolitan Opera is also offering nightly live streams.


4. Visit Mars

Need a break from Earth and its ongoing coronavirus outbreak? You’re in luck, since NASA and Google have collaborated to create some pretty cool virtual space travel. To explore the Red Planet in an interactive 360 view, click here.


5. Tour Historic Sites

If interplanetary travel seems a little much, there’s always international travel. You can now take virtual tours of historic landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and the Vatican right from your computer.


6. Visit National Parks

Despite having to stay inside, there are still plenty of opportunities to see the great outdoors. For more information on how to visit the fjords in Alaska or the volcanoes in Hawaii, click here.


7. Learn to Cook

Now is the perfect time to start preparing for your MasterChef debut. With virtual cooking classes from famous chefs like Antoni Porowski and Alex Guarnaschelli, you’ll be ready in no time! Believe it or not, you can even take virtual cheese classes.


8. Learn Something New

Want to learn something new this quarantine? Coursera, an online learning platform you usually have to pay for, is now offering tons of free classes on just about anything. So is SAS, an analytics software that is now offering free training. If you want to become an art aficionado this quarantine, MoMA also has free virtual classes. 


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We know these are hard times, but ITS is here to help. For a comprehensive list of resources and answers to your coronavirus-related questions, visit https://www.binghamton.edu/its/about/organization/information-security/covid-links.html.


Received phishy covid-related emails? Report them to security@binghamton.edu. 


Experiencing tech problems? Contact the ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420 or helpdesk@binghamton.edu. Also check the Self Service Knowledge Base: https://binghamton.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_view2.