Online Resources to Stay Connected and Stay Well
Last Updated: 4/21/2020
LeadingAge New York and LeadingAge Connecticut have compiled a list of online resources for seniors and loved ones to use while practicing social distancing. We know that this is a difficult time. Social isolation is a growing issue for everyone, especially older adults that may be living alone or in a residential community.
Fortunately, many organizations are rising to the occasion and are offering free entertainment and virtual learning opportunities. We hope this guide will help you navigate the many online resources that are available to you. The resources linked below include online workshops, virtual tours of famous museums, live musical performances, mindfulness exercises and more!
If you have suggestions of things you’d like to see on our resources page, please contact Andrea Bellofiore at [email protected]
TRAVEL
Virtual Museum Tours
Google Arts & Culture teamed up with over 2500 museums and galleries around the world to bring you virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world.
Below, we have linked you directly to 12 virtual tours and exhibits that were reviewed in an article from Travel and Leisure.
British Museum, London Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Guggenheim Museum, New York Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Musée d’Orsay, Paris Uffizi Gallery, Florence
National Museum of Modern and MASP, São Paulo Contemporary Art, Seoul National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City Pergamon Museum, Berlin
Tour World-Famous Monuments
If outdoor heritage sites are more your thing, Google has that covered, too. First, the search engine has a wide variety of landmarks you can visit through their street view, including Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Roman Colosseum and the Egyptian Pyramids. The platform also recently launched the Heritage on the Edge initiative, which features five Unesco World Heritage sites under threat from climate change. The project includes 3D maps, augmented reality features, and expert opinions on how we can protect these treasured landmarks.
Connect with Nature
Explore.org offers free live streaming of exotic locations and wildlife around the world; including oceans, African plains, animal sanctuaries and more. Click here to begin your exploration!
MUSIC & THEATER
6SQFT.com has published an article offering links to recordings of NYC based operas, theaters, concerts, and other live virtual performances. Some theatres are also offering classes or workshops. We have linked several resources below. Click here to check out 6SQFT’s full list of performances and classes.
Metropolitan Opera NPR’s Daily List of Online Concerts
New York Philharmonic Broadway World Living Room Concerts
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center YouTube Series: Stars in the House
The Apollo Theater Caveat Comedy Shows
New York Theatre Workshop Bake w/ Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Free Online Classes w/ Coursea
Free online college courses are also available with Coursea. Once you sign up, Coursea asks for your employment and education history so they can provide relevant course recommendations. Click here to join for free!
CONNECTICUT MUSEUMS AND ATTRACTIONS
The Florence Griswold Museum, located in Old Lyme, is home to American Impressionism. They have many virtual exhibits available for viewing, an in depth study of George Henry Durrie’s “Seven Miles to Farmington” as well as their own YouTube channel.
The Mark Twain House & Museum, located in Hartford, was home to famous author Mark Twain. A virtual reality tour is available of his home however software will need to be downloaded in order to view.
Connecticut Historical Society, located in Hartford, has 50 online exhibits to view such as “Remembering G. Fox & Co” and live streaming history programs such as “Spies with the American Revolution” on Friday, April 24 at 2:00pm.
The Urban Collective, located in New Haven, has shared an overview of the exhibit “Rituals of Resistance.”
Yale University Art Gallery, located in New Haven, has two online exhibits featuring photographs from “Robert Adams: The Place We Live” and “Dura-Europos: Excavating Antiquity” They also have a YouTube channel featuring highlights from past exhibits.
Yale Center for British Art, located in New Haven, has videos of past gallery talks and lectures, short films and behind-the-scenes looks at past exhibits.
Artspace, located in New Haven, highlights digital flatfile exhibitions featuring different artists.
Ely Center of Contemporary Art, located in New Haven, has an online exhibition space that features different art collections.
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, located in Hamden, highlights their permanent collection of art.
Bruce Museum, located in Greenwich, showcases its 10th annual iCreate exhibition that features art by regional high school students.
Palestine Museum, located in Litchfield, has a 10 minute informal online tour of the museum which features the exhibit “Telling the Palestinian Story – 50 Women Artists-200 Works of Art.”
Slater Memorial Museum, at the Norwich Free Academy, has a virtual tour of their museum.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, located in Hartford, has an audio tour of their new exhibit “Savor: A Revolution in Food Culture.”
New England Carousel Museum, located in Bristol, has a video tour of the museum.
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, located at Yale University, has online exhibitions created from their library collection.
Mattatuck Museum, in Waterbury, features Waterbury scenes during the 1930s and 1940s by the artist Edward Balthazar.
Susan Powell Fine Art, in Madison, has a page dedicated to each of its represented artists with several examples of their work.
William Benton Museum of Art, located at the University of Connecticut, has online highlights of five different exhibitions.
Washington Art Association, in Washington Depot, has an online art show.
Spectrum Art Gallery, in Essex, has an online exhibit titled “Shadow Dance.”
Arts Center East, in Vernon, features the 70th annual Academic Artists Association exhibit of traditional realism.
New Haven Museum has many permanent exhibits available for online viewing including “The Armistad Story: Cinque Lives Here.”
Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, located at the University of Connecticut, has an online African American Puppetry exhibit as well as videos of events at the museum.
Mystic Seaport has two historical exhibits “Adventurous Use of the Sea: The Cruising Club of American” and “The 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan.”
Hygienic Art Galleries, in New London, has their annual juried exhibit online.
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History offers a time lapse video of the renovation of the Great Hall and other museum features.
Art Gallery at Western Connecticut State University showcases the Master of Fine Arts Thesis Virtual Exhibition.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum, in New London, has a mobile app available that features tours of the galleries and educational content.
Fairfield University has a series of online videos relating to their current exhibit “Archives of Consciousness: Six Cuban Artists.”
Hartford Public Library has an online art collection.
Lyme Art Association, in Old Lyme, has a online show “Yin and Yang: Abstraction and Realism” as well as a virtual tour of the library.
Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center has a collection of Native American dolls that can be viewed virtually.
Gilbert V. Boro Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds, has a YouTube video about the sculpture grounds, part of the Smithsonian Channel documentary series “America: Over the Edge” can be seen here.