More Free Online Resources
Virtual Tours and video cams of museums, libraries, zoos, aquariums and other attractions
- The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks - Google virtual tours - Explore more from the National Park Service.
- California State Parks Online Museum Collections - Explore these outstanding examples of historical objects, archaeological specimens, photography, and art.
- Let’s Discover Columbia Tours – Columbia State Historic Park
- Amazing Library Collections to Explore Online - Check out these library collections available to explore online.
- California State Library History Section - Are you researching a California history topic? Check out this huge collection of Californiana.
- California State Library History Section – honors - Local organizations and governments, as well as authors and poets whose works are in the collection, are recognized - including honoring Stanislaus-Modesto as the county and city of the month for March 2020.
- Adventure Journal - Animal webcams to enjoy, including sea otter feeding time, Alaskan brown bears emerging from hibernation, European brown bears lolling about, otherworldly jellyfish, and more.
- Georgia Aquarium Webcams - Enjoy live views from the aquarium webcams.
- Monterey Bay Aquarium - Tune into these live cams.
- Six Zoos and Aquariums Offering Live Videos of Animals for Free - Watch these curious creatures wander their habitats and learn something new from the comfort of your home.
- Famous Museum Virtual Tours - Experience the best museums from London to Seoul in the comfort of your own home.
- Palace of Versailles Tour - Explore the estate and learn history.
- Winchester Mystery House - Enjoy this free Video Access Tour of the Winchester Mystery House now until May 3, 2020.
- Broadway plays - 15 Broadway plays and musicals you can watch on stage from home.
- Met Museum Images - All images of public-domain artworks in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection — about 375,000 — are now free for anyone to use however they may please.
- Met Publications - Five decades of Met publications on art history, available to read, download, and/or search for free.
- National Gallery of Art - Enjoy open access to 45,000 available works of art.
- Rijksmuseum - Explore this ever-growing collection of more than 300,000 images.
- New York Public Library Public Domain Collections - More than 180,000 photographs, postcards, maps and other public-domain items from the library’s special collections in downloadable high-resolution files — along with an invitation to users to grab them and do with them whatever they please.
Library of Congress
- Library of Congress: Engage! - Engage with authors, illustrators, and poets. Participate in writing activities and explore author appearances at the National Book Festival, and more from the Library of Congress.
- For Educators: Classroom Materials & Online Office Hours - The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Join Library of Congress education specialists for 20-minute topical presentations followed by Q&A every Tuesday and Thursday 2-3 p.m. ET.
- Explore Digital Collections - Dive into the Library’s digital collections of more than 2.4 million items. Click through historical portraits and cityscape photographs, listen to sound recordings and oral histories, study American history and world cultures, discover local history and folklife traditions, explore maps, music, manuscripts and so much more.
- Library of Congress Printable Materials - The posters, bookmarks, bookplates, and other printable materials below were developed by the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate. Print-quality files are available as free downloads.
- Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words – Visit the Exhibition Online - Visit fascinating exhibitions online including our current exhibition on Rosa Parks which showcases rarely seen materials that offer an intimate view of Rosa Parks and documents her life and activism—creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure.
- Library of Congress's collection of Japanese block prints - The foremost areas of the blocks include actors, women, landscapes, and views of Western foreigners. The prints are completely free, opening up access to the formerly paid format of the Library holdings to the general public, releasing an unlimited store of knowledge. Many schools, traditions, and genres are represented, notably surimono, privately distributed prints combining pictures and poetry, and prints from the Russo-Japanese and Sino-Japanese wars. However, the primary strengths of the collection are the Japanese art forms known as Ukiyo-e and Yokohama-e.
- The Library of Congress’s Sigmund Freud Collection Online - A group of New York psychoanalysts established the Sigmund Freud Archives after Freud’s death. The online edition comprises the personal papers of Freud and members of his family. It includes correspondence, manuscripts of Freud’s writings, calendars, notebooks, legal documents and certificates, and Freud’s pocket watch, among many other items. Also available online are transcripts of interviews with people who knew Freud personally, more than a hundred of which are newly opened and available for the first time.
Free Resources for eBooks, Audiobooks and Stories Online
- Storyline Online - streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide. Here are just a few examples:
- Betty White reading Harry the Dirty Dog
- Oprah Winfrey reading The Hula-Hoopin' Queen
- Mindy Sterling reading Library Lion
- Tia & Tamera Mowry reading No Mirrors in my Nana's House
- Free stories kids from Audible - instantly stream an incredible collection of stories.
- The Big List of Children’s Authors Doing Online Read-Alouds and Activities - Explore this list of over 50 of the best virtual author activities.
- Where the Wild Things Are - Read by Christopher Walken, with improvisation
- Project Gutenberg - The granddaddy of archived books. Fiction, non-fiction, reference works, musical scores, and much more. The books come in a variety of formats, including plain text, html, and audio.
- More eBook and Audio Book options are available here.
- TumbleBooks - easy to use, unlimited streaming access to eBooks, audiobooks, videos, and more. TumbleBooks is offered to library customers through a special arrangement through August 31, 2020.
- enki California Digital Library - an eBook library available to every person in California.
- Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature - Browse several categories, search for subjects, authors, titles, etc, see full-screen, zoomable images of book covers, download XML versions, and read all of the over 6,000 books in the collection with comfortable reader views.
- ASU Library Digital Repository - A rare collection of newsletters and photographs from Arizona’s Japanese Internment camps. The collection, a collaboration between the Arizona State University Library Arizona Collection and the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, contains more than 5,000 pages of bilingual camp newsletters, now publicly accessible and text-searchable.
- International Storytelling Center - The International Storytelling Center is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and the premiere educational, arts and cultural institution dedicated to enriching lives and building a better world through the power of storytelling. The organization provides digital performances, interviews, educational content, and other programs.
- #ColorOurCollections - Coloring book lovers can take part in #ColorOurCollections February 4-8 yearly–a campaign where museums and libraries worldwide make available free coloring books, letting you color artwork from their collections and then sharing it on Twitter and other social media platforms, using the hashtag #ColorOurCollections.
- Coloring Sutro’s Treasures - Printable coloring sheets reflecting Sutro Library treasures
At Home Learning Resources
- Love Our Schools - ConnectsStanislaus County families with teaching professionals to help students with Distance Learning during COVID-19.
- How to Homeschool for Free- A variety of resources and ideas for homeschooling.
- Virtual field trips for kids - 30+ virtual field trips for kids.
- Scholastic Learn at Home - Day-by-day projects to keep to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.
- At-Home Resources for Kids (and their grownups) - Activities, tips, and explainers to help you navigate a new normal.
- Virtual Field Trips - Explore this calendar of virtual field trips for families.
- San Diego Zoo Kids Page - Activites, videos, games, and more.
- Wonderopolis – Where the wonders of learning never cease.
- 20 Screen-free things to do with your kids indoors when school is closed - a list of ideas of fun things to do.
Science
- NASA At Home - Lots of educational and fun activities.
- NASA Media Library - NASA has made their entire collection of images, sounds, and video available and publicly searchable online. Its 140,000 photos and other resources available for you to see, or even download and use it any way you like. View the multimedia library here.
- NASA-Funded Research Results - NASA is opening up its research library to the public in the newly launched web database PubSpace and it’s absolutely free.
- Steve Spangler - Science Lessons
- Steve Spangler- 50 Experiments in 50 days
History
- AP U.S. History - Study Guide
- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - New, free family website subscription provides resources and guidance for remote learning.
Art for Kids
- Art for Kids Hub - A variety of art lessons for kids, including how to draw, paint, and make origami.
- Lunch Doodles for Kids - Bestselling Children’s Author Mo Willems Is Teaching Kids Drawing On YouTube.
Recreation, Exercise, and More
- City of Ceres Virtual Recreation Center
- City of Modesto Virtual Recreation Center and Resources
- City of Riverbank Virtual Recreation Center
- Healthy Aging Association - This downloadable strength training participant routine will help you stay in shape. Search for Healthy Aging Association on YouTube or Facebook for free video exercise classes.
- 305 Fitness - This dance cardio studio with locations in New York, Boston, and Washington D.C. hosts virtual classes and has videos of their routines.
- Cosmic Kids Yoga - Includes yoga and relaxation videos for kids who are three years and older.
- CrossFit at Home - Find videos of home workouts that include no gym equipment or homemade substitutions (you will see a lot of water jugs in this videos).
- Dancing Alone Together - Take a live dance class from your home. Offerings include ballet, jazz, hip hop, and more.
- Junior Giants at Home - A free, virtual baseball season that brings the fun of the field to your home. During the 4-week season, Junior Giants are introduced to the fundamentals of the game while learning important lessons in health, education and character development. Select your city from the drop down menu. Stanislaus County cities available are Keyes, Modesto, Patterson, Riverbank, and Waterford. Junior Giants at Home Flyer
- Peloton - Offers streaming workouts for bikes, treadmills, and strength training, with an extended free trial period of ninety days.
- Planet Fitness - This chain of gyms hosts a virtual workout every day at 4:00 pm.
- Special Olympics School of Strength - In partnership with the WWE, the Special Olympics created a series of videos for in-home workouts and provides resources for caregivers.
- Yoga with Adriene - Yoga videos to fit your time and ability needs.
- YMCA360 - The YMCA is offering videos of many of their most popular workouts, including low impact exercise, yoga, and boot camp.
