VIRTUAL RECREATION RESOURCES
This comprehensive guide offers resources for such pursuits as
arts and crafts to virtual tours—and everything in between.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
COOKING
FOOD & DRINK RECIPES
GARDENING
HEALTH AND FITNESS
HOME IMPROVEMENT
LANGUAGE LESSONS
LIBRARY RESOURCES
MUSIC AND DANCE
- The Metropolitan Opera is offering a free stream of past shows every night at 7:30 p.m. EDT (4:30 PM PST). Featured shows will be pulled from the company’s Live in HD series and will be available for a period of 23 hours before a new show is posted.
- Join line dance instructor Carrie Wojo twice a week on a live Zoom call and learn some line dancing! Follow along with the live recordings on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m. via the link. Or watch later when convenient for you from the previously cataloged recordings here.
- Broadway HD offers a large collection of productions from New York City and London West End theaters for $8.99 per month after free seven-day trial. Its library features approximately 300 shows, including “Cats: The Musical,” some of Shakespeare’s greatest works, ballet productions and more.
- The Actors’ Fund offers miniature Broadway shows every day at 2 and 8 p.m., featuring such stars as Kristen Chenoweth, Patrick Wilson and Audra McDonald. Shows are free, but donations are accepted.
ONLINE GAMES
- Trivia
- Play American Mahjongg online against computers and your friends on your computer, iPad or tablet. Two weeks for free; then $5 a month.
- Play bridge online for free at the largest bridge site in the world. Duplicate, tournaments, money games, vugraph and much more.
- Poker from the experts for free.
- Mahjongg, solitaire, word and more. Play your beloved games and so much more for free through the AARP website.
- Recreate a night playing pool with your friends at the local pub with 8 Ball Pool, a virtual version of billiards. The app allows you to play one on one with anyone using the app at random, but you can also link your account to your Facebook page so you can challenge people you know.
- Invite friends from your contacts or connect your Facebook account to play Scrabble GO on Android or iPhone.
- Yahtzee with Buddies will quench your thirst to play with far-flung friends and family until you can throw the dice in person. Click over to the “Social” tab at the bottom of the screen and either enter their username or connect your Facebook friends to your account.
- This Uno app offers multiple variations on this popular card game, but you can still play the original game in “classic mode” with a group of friends remotely. Send invite links to your friends via text or another messenger.
- Houseparty allows you and your friends to video chat for free. You can also play games such as charades by clicking the dice icon in the upper right-hand corner.
STAY CONNECTED
- DreamCatchers aims to serve vulnerable populations at risk with its Kindness and Compassion Initiative to help combat the current tide of social isolation facing the senior population. Become a virtual Pen Pal or send a video (or physical) greeting card.
- Facebook
- Facebook Messenger
- FaceTime
- Google Duo works on smartphones and iPad, and on the web.
- Zoom offers free basic 40-minute meetings with four or more people, unlimited time with three people or less.
TELEVISION AND MOVIES
- Netflix is offering a 30-day trial (no promo code needed)
- Crackle cost-free service offers a variety of content, ranging from classics like “Bewitched” and “All in the Family,” as well as newer series and hundreds of films from major studios.
- Tubi offers thousands of movies and TV shows, available anywhere, always free. The service is ad-supported, so expect to watch a couple minutes of ads every 10 minutes or so.
- YouTube apps are compatible with just about every device that has a screen, and the service features videos to choose from on nearly any topic imaginable, including full-length films, documentary series and curated channels.
- Popcornflix is a free movie app that offers a great collection of movies. The app presents you with a wall of free movies, sorted by categories, with the new arrivals shown right on top.
TRAVEL
- BestLife offers the world’s most beautiful destinations from your couch.
- Machu Picchu, Peru offers dramatic peak views, lush emerald terraces and fuzzy, slope-grazing alpacas.
- Skyline web cams offer views from around the world.
- Earthcam.com brings the globe to your living room.
- The Trevi Fountain in Rome is used to seeing 1,200 visitors per hour, but with all of Italy on lockdown, it has sat solitary for nearly a month.
- New York isn’t quite New York without its throngs of visitors and steady stream of yellow cabs, but not even a global pandemic can grind Times Square to a halt.
- Put on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and pretend you’re floating in the Dead Sea or making a pilgrimage to the Western Wall with Virtually Israel’s tour of Jerusalem.
VIRTUAL TOURS
Museums
Natural History
National Parks, Natural Wonders
Special Interest, Miscellaneous
ZOOM TUTORIALS
ZOO Wildlife CAMS
