At-home learning, #4

We've been focusing on ways to keep learning online, but of course we can't spend all day staring at screens. Please help us create a giant list of non-media things to do. Use the email form in the right-hand panel.

Here are more suggestions, both online and not, for learning and staying cheerful (scroll down for many more):

Tackle those long-put-off projects:
Clean a closet. Clear out a drawer. Tackle that lo-o-o-ng book or movie.

Try something new:
You know the experts say the only way to keep the older brain from rotting is to give it new challenges. The newspaper has possibilities: Sudoku, crossword, Jumble, or Scrabble. Pages you don't usually read, like financial, food, Homestead.

Dig out an old cookbook and try a new recipe. Or see what new dish you can put together from ingredients already in the pantry.

Finally learn how to use Skype, Google Hangouts, or FaceTime so you can keep in closer touch with distant friends and family.

Watch the jellyfish and penguins and hippos:
And the otters, penguins, sharks, sea lions and more! Check out the Monterey Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium's live webcams. The Cincinnati Zoo will have a live "safari" daily at 3 PM on Facebook, which will also be available as videos on their webpage:
https://laughingsquid.com/live-video-streams-from-monterey-bay-aquarium/
https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/
http://cincinnatizoo.org/home-safari-resources/

Explore outer space:
NASA has put its entire photo collection online at https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-images-archive#.XnInJahKi70

Learn about classical music:
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has made its "classroom edition" of concerts available for free:
https://livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv/classroom-edition

Watch dance, theater, opera:
The Folger Shakespeare Library offers a list of Shakespeare plays and adaptations available on your favorite streaming service:
https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2020/03/17/streaming-shakespeare-march-2020/?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ShakespearePlus18Mar2020&utm_content=version_A&promo=

You could also consider a trial membership in a streaming content provider. On Broadway HD, a free week plus $9 for the next month gets you all Broadway shows you can handle. Marquee TV (British dance, theater, opera) offers a full month trial membership. But put the cancellation date on your calendar! 
https://www.broadwayhd.com/
https://www.marquee.tv/

At-home learning, #3

Today's Bangor Daily has a list of restaurants and stores offering pick-up and delivery services. The City has created parking spaces especially for this purpose. See the "Food" section of today's paper or go to https://bangordailynews.com/2020/03/17/news/bangor/here-are-the-bangor-restaurants-and-stores-offering-pickup-and-delivery/

More ways to keep the brain active while isolating:

Try Great Courses:
On offer: a month free trial, rather than two weeks. A huge range of thorough instruction by experts. Use the code FREEMO at checkout. Don't forget to cancel in a month!
https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/

One-stop shopping for FREE courses, audio books, movies, language learning, and more (even museum coloring pages!):
http://www.openculture.com/2020/03/use-your-time-in-isolation-to-learn-everything-youve-always-wanted-to.html?bclid=IwAR34Lrp1lxgAhbR5drZoGZVdLOSX2VTdy0gtvzw3vhnacUPCHpRAPoH3XUQ

Explore foreign film: 
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181029-the-100-greatest-foreign-language-films. You'll have to track them down, but it's a starting point.

Ken Burns' "Baseball," free at PBS:
https://www.pbs.org/show/baseball

Art/crafts projects, especially to do with grandkids:
On Facebook, search mcharper manor. Tutorials are live-streamed daily, with links to video for later use.

National parks, from your sofa:
https://totallythebomb.com/heres-33-national-park-tours-you-can-take-virtually-from-the-comfort-of-your-home?fbclid=IwAR01SNTnECaZULB9nVuNB_4E6ZcS2TYudEY250iX-w-GuuK00a4Q8OUTxUQ

At-home learning, Part 2

Continuing with ideas for stuck-at-home fun and stimulation, here are a few performances you can watch. And of course there are a gazillion available on YouTube; you could spend hours just browsing.

Note that some of these will require a streaming device. And be aware that thousands of stay-at-homes are finding these freebies, so sites could crash or become inaccessible. The Met Opera's first night of free streaming is a good example--but if you can't get on in the evening, try the next morning; each opera is available until the next afternoon.

Music:
https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/no-audiences-concerts-streamed-to-world/

Musicals:
https://playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home

Stay tuned! 
We plan to add to these suggestions every few days for the duration!

At-home learning

We're sad at having to cancel our spring semester and want to help fill in the gap. So here are some ideas for continuing to learn in the confines of our own snug homes:

Music:
Live, free online opera begins tonight! The Metropolitan Opera is offering a nightly video from its archive of Live in HD productions. "Carmen" tonight, with a jaw-dropping performance by Elena Garanca. "La Boheme" tomorrow; how can you miss?
https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/met-to-launch-nightly-met-opera-streams-a-free-series-of-encore-live-in-hd-presentations-streamed-on-the-company-website-during-the-coronavirus-closure/

Field trips! OK, these are intended for kids, but who's more a kid at heart than a senior?https://www.waterford.org/resources/3-great-virtual-field-trips-for-early-learners/

Art: Feeling creative and need some images or a jump-start? Or just want to browse great art from great museums? Here are a couple of free museum collections to get you started, and you can find more by Googling "free museum art."
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection

https://kottke.org/20/01/paris-museums-put-100000-images-online-for-unrestricted-public-use

Take a course: You can take a ton of English, business, science, social science and other courses for free from Ivy League schools:
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/here-are-380-ivy-league-courses-you-can-take-online-right-now-for-free-9b3ffcbd7b8c/

And of course there's always Khan Academy. Though originally intended for high school students, there's course work here on pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about:
https://www.khanacademy.org/

Stay tuned for more!

We have to cancel

Like so many other organizations and educational groups, we've regretfully cancelled our spring semester. Though it was the only reasonable thing to do, it made us sad.😌

But we're determined to keep the spirit of learning for fun and stimulation alive, and maybe help stave off cabin fever, too! We'll be posting online and other learning opportunities as we find them. You can help by making suggestions. Just use the "Email us" form in the right-hand panel. Together, we'll get through these strange times!

Stay cheerful and healthy, help others, and let's see what creative hay we can make out of this new reality.

The courses are coming, the courses are coming!

The date we've all been waiting for is coming right up: March 23, when our courses begin. Mahjong and bridge, climate change and Buddhism, cooking and movies and literature and so much more!

Now that we're all 21st Century, it's easy to join up, find our courses and register. Just stop by
http://penobscotvalleyseniorcollege.org and everything is right there for you to peruse.

And don't forget the last of our winter events: Holocaust Center expert Erica Nadelhaft speaking on the German POW camps in Maine. Scroll down for details.

See you in class!

Winter wonders

When courses are not in session, PVSC fills our longing for learning with One-Day Events. They're usually two-hour presentations on all kinds of topics. Presenters and learners alike tend to find them stimulating and inspiring.

This winter, we've already had two, one on women in Islam and one on the extreme adventures of a pair of our world-traveling members.

Coming up in March is another event that should have high interest for members, especially since some of us may have dim memories of this chapter in our history: the WWII German POW camps in Maine.

The speaker is Erica Nadelhaft from the Maine Holocaust and Human Rights Center, and the date is March 20. This event is members-only (or guests of members), so this is a great time to join up! Ya'll come!

(Photo from mainememory.net)