Entertainment Options to Help Pass the Time While Isolating

Kenosha - With many families going into their second week of sheltering at home, it would be normal to feel a little stir crazy, to have a little bit of cabin fever.  In addition to education and exercise, education is vitally important to helping us all stay occupied and get our minds off of the real world for a while.  Below you will find some free or low-cost entertainment options that you and your families can try in your own homes.

#TogetheratHome Free Concerts - Every day, more artists are joining in this free concert movement.  Coldplay’s Chris Martin, John Legend, Shawn Mendes, Pink, Common, Charlie Puth, Keith Urban and Neil Young are just a few of the artists that have chosen to stream free online performances to entertain fans during the coronavirus crisis.  Search #Togetherathome on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms to find these concerts.

Billboard.com Concerts - The music website has compiled a list of recent and upcoming live-streamed concerts from such artists as Garth Brooks, Indigo Girls, Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Bono, Ben Platt and Death Cab for Cutie.

Frozen 2 on Disney+ - Disney has released the animated hit on its streaming platform several weeks early to keep kids busy during this time.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - The movie was made available for digital purchase or rental early, as well.

Ken Burns’ Baseball - PBS has made the classic 18 hour miniseries available to stream on its website, pbs.org.

Metropolitan Opera and other world-renowned performances - The Lincoln Center-based troupe is streaming past performances via its official website, metopera.org, as well as on apps for Amazon, Roku, AppleTV, and Samsung Smart TVs. In addition, select Broadway shows are available for streaming through Amazon, iTunes and YouTube, as well as BroadwayHD, where a free trial or $8.99 monthly membership fee gives you access to many more shows. London’s Royal Opera House, the London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic are all streaming performances either on their official sites or YouTube channels.

Virtual Dance Parties - An increasing number of well known musicians and DJs are hosting “virtual dance parties”, a way to enjoy some music, pass the time and get a little exercise, as well.  You can find these parties by searching #QuaranTunes on social media or checking out the radio app Stationhead (stationhead.com).

Online Dance Classes - Famed choreographer Debbie Allen is just one of many offering free dance lessons online.  Schedules for her “Early Birds” Dance Class can be found using #dancewithdebbieallen.  Steezy.co offers online hip hop dancing classes; there is a fee, but the site offers a free trial for a limited time.  Danceplug.com is another site offering online dance classes in a variety of genres; some classes charge a fee, while some are free.

Online cooking classes - Many sites, including various YouTube channels, are offering virtual cooking classes. An example is Milk Street, a site which is offering its online courses for free through the end of April (177milkstreet.com).

Virtual art classes - This is a good time to learn a new skill or bone up on one you haven’t used in a while.  There are a number of great online art classes.  Famed artist Mo Willems is offering live classes on The Kennedy Center’s YouTube channel every day.

Yoga and Meditation - Relaxation is crucial during these trying times.  YouTube has a plethora of yoga and meditation instructional videos and streams.  Yoga with Adriene is one example that comes highly recommended, and the “Get a Helmet” podcast offers terrific guided meditations.

Hulu, Netflix free trials - If you are looking for movies or TV shows to watch and aren’t sure you want to commit to a paid subscription to one of these streaming services, they both offer free trials for a limited time.

New Release Movies for Rent or Purchase Online - With movie theaters shut down, a number of production companies have made the decision to make their current theater release movies available online.  Universal’s The Invisible Man, Emma and The Hunt and Disney’s Onward are just a few examples.  The movie website RottenTomatoes.com has a list of new release movies and where they can currently be rented or purchased online.

Video Game Releases - Epic Games Store has made a number of video games available to play for free.

School Musicals - Schools from all across the country are using the hashtag #SunshineSongs to share videos of their school musicals.  This can be a fun way to introduce your children to music theater.

Google Art and Culture Collection - This collection features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives around the world.  artsandculture.google.com

Virtual Field Trips - Google has compiled a list of over 30 virtual field trips, including the San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone National Park, Mars, The Louvre, and the Great Wall of China.  Search “Virtual Field Trips” on Google to find this list, plus many more.

PBS Kids - In addition to information about the coronavirus, PBS, PBS Kids and PBS LearningMedia are offering a variety of tools to support learning at home, including videos, games and skill-building activities.  PBS.org

Online Trivia Challenges and Competitions - There are many sites offering trivia games and challenges; sporcle.com is one well-known site.  Pub trivia has become increasingly popular in the U.S. With bars across the state, and most of the country, closed down, quizmaster.com is offering pub-style interactive trivia games online.  Check their website for a schedule and rules.

Zoo Livestreams - The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago recently took advantage of their empty halls to allow penguins to roam free, livestreaming it for the world to see.  Many other zoos and aquariums are joining in. The Aquarium of the Pacifici has live webcams set up for many of its exhibits, providing entertainment and education.  The Long Beach, California, aquarium has penguin cams set up both above and below the water.  Monterey Bay Aquarium has livestreams of their sea otter exhibit between 12 pm and 12 am Central Time. The Kansas City Zoo offers livestreams on their YouTube channel.

E-books - While libraries and bookstores across the country are closed, and purchasing e-books from Amazon can get pricey, there are still a few ways to get your reading fix.  Many larger libraries now offer free e-book rental to those with library cards.  Scribd, a reading subscription service, is making its library, which includes millions of e-books, audiobooks, magazines and more, available for free for up to 30 days. 

This is just a sampling of the family entertainment options that are available.  New opportunities are coming up every day.