Hello downtown Phoenix residents. T.J. Triolo is back, and this time not giving you events because, well, they’re all cancelled. As a result, I actually have some online educational and cultural resources here for you this time! I actually have a lot of experience with these types of resources personally; I was homeschooled from the first grade through the eighth grade and completed high school online. Check these resources out to help cure your boredom during social distancing:
Heard Museum Digital Library
I admit, even though some of these resources are not local, I did want to include at least a couple local ones here. The Heard Museum has a digital library of documentary work and artwork, allowing you to learn about Native American culture from the comfort of your couch, or maybe even your bed.
Phoenix Art Museum Online Collection
The Phoenix Art Museum doesn’t have all of their artwork online, but they have information on many of their major art collections. Some of the artwork even has images, if allowed by copyright. Although it’s not the same as seeing artwork in person, online images definitely have an advantage regardless of social distancing: It’s far cheaper to get online and look at pictures than pay museum admission fees. Considering many of us are living on reduced incomes right now (me included), it’s definitely beneficial to save money where you can.
Scholastic Learn at Home
Ah, I have fond memories of learning with Scholastic resources. They really do make learning fun for kids; I loved the computer games they made, and best of all, “The Magic School Bus” videos. They had different episodes about different science topics, and I think my mom still has old VHS tapes of them somewhere. I still remember the theme song to that show … Scholastic offers online resources for free to let parents keep kids learning while home from school. With different activities available for different age groups, you can find fun activities to do with your kids to keep their brains active!
Eight Digital Education Resources from the Smithsonian
Naturally, if anyone would produce free educational resources for use at home, the Smithsonian Institution would take part. As one of our nation’s most well-known houses of knowledge with massive collections and a lot of museums, the Smithsonian has produced free resources for people to learn from home. This article gives eight different types of resources they offer, so you get eight options from one page. I’ve saved you time on this, so you can thank me later.
The Met Collection
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has more than 406,000 images of artworks, which should leave art lovers with plenty to look at without getting bored. I don’t think I have the attention span to look at all the works available in one go, but then that gives you plenty of time to look over them on multiple days. Besides, how often would you have the chance to go to the Met even without travel restrictions? Here’s your chance to do it virtually!
Contact the reporter at tjtriolo@asu.edu.
Downtown Devil's community section editor. I also write the Downtown Digest, a weekly column with things to do, with experience writing news articles and creating news videos as well. Graduating from ASU in May 2020.
