This blog will be slightly adjusted with stuff only available online or through an app. In the past, I have bent the rules a bit, recommending movies that were only available legally by going to an actual brick-and-mortar theater. This does not help anyone at the moment.
While I am reorganizing my first blog, I decided to do a more general list of ways to find much of this content online for free. Most people have a platform in which they pay for services like Netflix, Hulu and the dozens of other sites, but with everyone hunkering down, accessibility might be strained.
Some of us might need to cut down luxury subscription services with workplaces temporarily closing and we can’t physically go out to the free events that are now canceled. Use them while you have them, but this isn’t an option for everyone and may not be in the future as working is becoming more and more limited.
That being said, here are five fun, free things you can do while social distancing.
Couch concerts
Logos courtesy of respective organizations/businesses and graphic by The Signal Online Editor Alyssa Shotwell.
Most people have their preference when it comes to music streaming platforms, but what about full concerts? YouTube comes to mind for most, and by all means, use it – but there are more limited-time options being added daily.
The Houston Symphony has many recordings online and the Metropolitan Opera is offering one daily free, HD performance. The Berlin Philharmonic is running a special through the end of March that if redeemed by signing up and using a voucher code, their entire catalog of concerts and films will be free for a month. Starting April 2 and every Thursday at 2 p.m. CST, the National Theatre (London) is streaming a play every week until at least the end of April. The first one is “One Man, Two Guvnors” starring James Corden followed by “Jane Eyre” and “Treasure Island.”
In addition to NPR’s running list of virtual concerts across many genres, searching tags like “#TogetherAtHome” across sites like Twitter and Instagram is another way to find impromptu free concerts.
If you already own an Oculus or HTC Vive you can have a similar experience for free by experiencing Wave or Facebook’s “Oculus Venues.”
Very legal feature films
When it comes to a more expensive medium, like movies, free means free asterisk. Sites like Sony Crackle, Vudu, Tubi, YouTube, IMDBtv and The Roku Channel all contain ads as the cost of viewing from their collection of films. Many people hate ads, but I consider them bathroom breaks or, while limited to the indoors, stretch breaks.
If you are looking for an ad-free experience, see the UHCL’s Neumann Library’s Films on Demand.
E-books and comics and magazines, oh my!
Though it may seem like the only way to get a digitized book is by paying for it via Audible or pirating, there are many services like OverDrive, Libby (my favorite), Axis360 and even UHCL’s own digital catalog. Many of these allow you to download the borrowed item for 2 – 3 weeks at a time with no late fees thanks to an auto-return feature.
If you are looking to read a book with unlimited time and prefer books published in the not-so-recent past and that tend to be in the public domain, check out LibriVox, Project Gutenberg, Open Library and Authorama.
Many of these sites are compatible with phone, desktop, e-reader and/or tablet. Harris County residents, military personal and other Texans can obtain a Harris County Public Library card online.
Virtual Museums
As a museum studies major, this list would not be complete without highlighting the many museums offering 360 virtual tours such as:
- Getty Museum (Los Angeles)
- Houston Museum of Natural Science (Houston)
- La Casa Azul (‘The Blue House’ also known as the Frida Museum Kahlo)
- Louvre (Paris)
- Museum of Modern Art (New York City)
- Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC)
- The British Museum (London)
- Museu de Art se São Paulo ( São Paulo, Brazil)
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
- Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Many of these come from Google Arts & Culture. The Digital Public Library of America has over two dozen current exhibitions available for view. For a more complete list of virtual exhibitions, programs, films and activities see the Museum Computer Network’s list. Though I prefer science, history and art museums and they make up the majority of this list, there is literally a museum for anyone.
For those that own a compatible VR headset, Steam has free immersive such as The VR Museum of Fine Art, the Infinite Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum “Beyond The Walls.” These are found under the categories of Education and Simulation Games on the Steam store.
H-Town Zoo
Our very own Houston Zoo is live streaming feeds from the zoo every weekday at 11 a.m. on their Facebook page. Each of the live streams highlights a different creature or critter at the zoo. If you miss that 11 a.m. window, then you can see the zoo’s live webcams to see the daily lives of Houston’s giraffes, gorillas, elephants, leafcutter ants, rhino and chimps.
Though you can’t use your zoo membership, do remember that it is tax-deductible and tax season. If you have resources to spare, consider donating to the Emergency Zoo Fund.