Hello downtown Phoenix people! It’s your glorious downtown guide, T.J. Triolo. I come bearing more gifts for you while you’re stuck at home. Here are some more educational/entertainment resources for being stuck inside. If you have an Internet connection, at least you won’t be bored. I just realized that if you’re reading this though, you definitely have an Internet connection, which means you’ll be able to access all of my non-boring resources. Have fun!
Orpheum Theatre Virtual Tour
The Orpheum Theatre is downtown’s own historical performing arts theater that originally opened in 1929. It has a long history in Phoenix, still standing even as the downtown around it changed over time. Although obviously you can’t go there in person right now, you can tour it online through this virtual tour here for free. Personally, I’d like to do virtual tours of places by flying a drone through them. With that said, I’ve never actually flown one before, so I have a feeling any attempt at doing this would end with something getting damaged.
Musical Instrument Museum Virtual Tour
The Musical Instrument Museum has more than 7,000 instruments from about 200 countries. This makes me contemplate just how many different types of instruments exist, and I realized it’s probably more than I could possibly imagine. Check them out in Google Maps’ view of the inside of the museum, clicking around as if you’re walking through it in real life. There’s a key difference though: You don’t have to put in much physical effort to move.
OdySea Aquarium Shark Week Lesson
OdySea Aquarium has some of the most fascinating life in the world. I find aquatic creatures to be highly interesting, especially clownfish and loaches. Loaches are some of the most fun freshwater fish to watch, and I will not hear opposition on this. I actually ran screaming toward them when I was 17 after finding them in an aquarium. Anyway, OdySea is putting together a free online lesson series on aquatic animals, and the first one is about sharks. Check out the link to learn more about these feared predators of the water!
Arizona State University Downtown Virtual Tour
If you’re looking to take a college tour but can’t for now, check out the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus online. It’s weird to think that the next freshman class entering this campus is going to start after I leave. I don’t know what it’s like not to have more schooling the next year. Well, high schoolers who are prospective students here, come take my place! Check out what ASU Downtown has to offer virtually if you haven’t looked into the campus already.
PBS Learning Media for Kids
I watched a lot of PBS shows as a kid. I remember watching “Arthur” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog” particularly. In addition to the shows, PBS now has learning material online for kids on different school subjects! I don’t think that was around when I was a kid. I sometimes feel old … If your kids are home from school and you want them to take an interest in learning, check out the link above.
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.
