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Precautionary measures to mitigate the advance of COVID-19 have led to the cancellation of massive events, closed museums, cinemas, concert halls, zoos and aquariums. Businesses have implemented distance working protocols, and universities use online educational technologies to create programs capable of supporting full university curricula. The general population, or at least the majority, has understood the need to stay home and reduce outings as much as possible, until further notice. Work and education obligations that can be done remotely are already covered, but a typical work day lasts eight hours. When this is over, people can spend a couple more hours to take advantage of learning opportunities. What can they do the rest of their free time?
Platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime agreed with the European Union to restrict their High Definition mode, so as not to saturate access to digital content and thereby make it available to more people. Entertainment content is the most sought by the general public and, therefore, the fastest saturated and exhausted. However, we can also resort to online cultural content. For our readers looking for cultural content beyond movies, series, and video games, we recommend the following list.
Go to a museum, without leaving home
The social distancing suggested worldwide is proving to be a heavy burden for many people, especially those who have a more active rhythm of life outside the home. The lack of recreational activities can contribute to the stress of mandatory isolation. In situations like these, just the idea of leaving home may be helpful to reduce this tension, so several museums have made free virtual tours available.
The Louvre Museum opened three virtual tours to the public. The first run through the well that used to be the original perimeter of the museum, which was built as a fortress by King Philip Augustus. Other areas of the tour include the room that showcases Egyptian antiquities and artifacts, and the Apollo Gallery, a part of the museum recently restored; it holds such valuable works as “Apollo Slays Python” by Delacroix.
The Vatican Museum has also opened its doors to netizens around the world, offering an online view of the paintings by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. In addition to this, visitors will have access to the classic sculptures of the museums of Pius Clementino and Chiaramonte.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid, Spain, also joins the effort to provide entertainment of cultural value to people who are quarantined. It features a comprehensive online exhibition dedicated to the work of Rembrandt and other outstanding artists of that time in Amsterdam. The museum also offers past exhibitions like the “Balenciaga and Spanish paintings” collection, which presented pieces of art and fashion designs inspired by the works in the museum. Also in Madrid, the Museo Nacional del Prado (The Prado Museum) offers virtual tours on its Instagram account and live videos on IGTV, as well as some teaching games for families, MOOC courses dedicated to Velázquez and Bosco, and even a timeline with artificial intelligence applied to the collections.
A night at the opera
Despite the cancellation of concerts and musical events, various organizations are performing them live and broadcasting them online for free. The Metropolitan Museum of New York already has a billboard listing free opera concerts. The functions are available from the time of their release until 20 hours after the broadcast. The Bavarian State Opera has an entire schedule loaded with free works that will continue until April. The functions will be broadcast on Mondays, and some advances are available on its official website.
For classical music concerts, the Berlin Philharmonic opened a digital hall of free concerts. On its official webpage, it details the instructions for accessing these concerts. Also, the Seattle Symphony offers live broadcasts on Thursdays and Saturdays via YouTube and Facebook.
Books, books, books
Reading is one of the most indispensable activities in times of voluntary confinement. Recently, collections with thousands of fiction and non-fiction books and documents have been released for free access.
The Spanish Experiment.
JTSOR, one of the most established platforms in the world offering academic and research material, released 6000 books on various topics, a collection that will increase over time. The Yaconic magazine collected and published 3000 books on art, film, fashion, muralism, iconography, art historiography, visual culture, and more. The content is in Spanish. Project Gutenberg has a collection of 60,000 non-fictional books and educational material, all free of charge and on any subject that readers would be interested in learning.
For fictional books and entertainment needs for children and adults, the Apple Store opened a comprehensive collection of free books and audiobooks of various genres for all audiences. For those who do not have access to the Apple Store or are looking for more variety, public-domain-book sites feature millions of literary works of all genres and for all ages, both in English and Spanish.
Quarantine time is especially difficult for children who must stay at home. Children’s stories can also help mitigate the effects of confinement. The Spanish Experiment has a collection of stories that were translated from English into Spanish by Spanish-speaking people as a learning tool for both languages.
If you are looking to continue learning at home, the Spanish digital newspaper La Voz de Almería curated a list of resources including books and games to keep kids entertained as they learn.
The online material for keeping busy and cultivating oneself is vast, ranging from visits to museums and concerts to more creative activities such as virtual escape rooms organized by libraries or live cams in zoos that teach us about animal life. At the same time, we entertain ourselves watching penguins waddling down steps. Without a doubt, this period of isolation has made us contemplate the cultural opportunities differently. There is much free material at our disposal to overcome the psychological burden of quarantine; now, we just need to take advantage of it.
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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