Ideas to Keep Busy at Home for All Ages

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During our months-long COVID closure in 2020 and 2021, the Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Library staff researched a variety of ways we could bring our libraries' resources to you at home. We knew that both children and adults needed to be entertained and to continue learning. With that in mind, we created the guide below of creative and fun ways that our community could stay engaged remotely.

Although the libraries have now safely reopened, there are many sites and activities on our list that we hope you'll continue to enjoy.

Adults & Seniors

Activities for Adults

Brain Games, Puzzles, & Fun Stuff

25 Best Board Game Apps to Play Right Now

AARP Brain Games
Keeping your mind sharp

Awkward Family Photos
Hilarious photos

Braingle
Tingle your brain with these puzzlers.

Brain Pickings
A fascinating site on all things literary.

Fun lists, information bytes and more!

Happy Neuron
Games to stimulate your mind.

Mock News for Adults

Online Jigsaw Puzzles

Quizzes by Mental Floss

Sharp Brains
Brain-teasers for teens and adults.

USA Today
Crossword Puzzles and lots more games.

Websudoku

Crafts for Adults

All Free Knitting
Learn Knitting

Art Bar

Crafts by Amanda

Crafts for All Seasons

11 Creative Crafts to Keep Adults Busy During COVID

50 Fun DIY’s for Adults

5 Free Calligraphy Courses

Harry Potter Crafts & Activities

HGTV Easy DIY Crafts to Do On Your Own

How to Draw Cartoons

How to Draw

How to Make a Dahlia Book Page Wreath

Old Book Page Ornament

Great Origami How to Video Links

Beginner Origami

Ninja Star
Ninja stars are cool, and this one looks easy to make

Heart Box/Envelope
A clever idea of an origami thing that moves and has a function

Turtle
The turtle is cute and looks easy to make

Advanced Origami

Lily in a Pot
The flower is very pretty, and the video shows clearly how to make it step by step

Crane
Cranes are classic origami, so this is a good one to know, you can make one of those thousand-crane trees once you know how to make it, and thousand-crane trees are supposed to make people recover more quickly from illness or injury.

Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are cool, and this one looks complicated but cool.

Sprucecrafts

Star Maze
Learn all about stars while playing this fun app.

Stimola

10 Best Online Photography Courses

Classes for Adults

Academic Earth
Free online college courses.

Alison
Free online courses from the world’s experts

Carnegie Melon
Independent Learner courses

Class Central
Lists a bunch of free online classes

Coursera
Courses, certificates and degrees from universities and colleges.

Free Online UC Berkeley Courses

Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections

Khan Academy
A nonprofit with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

Memrise
Fastest way to learn a language.

National Council of Teachers of English Courses for Families and Teachers

National Emergency Library
A collection of books that supports emergency remote teaching, research activities, independent scholarship, and intellectual stimulation while universities, schools, training centers, and libraries are closed.

Open Culture
Free open and cultural education online.

Open Yale Courses
Free Yale lectures

Sophia
Offering some free ACE-recommended classes for college credit.

TedEd
For students and educators.

10 Best Online Photography Courses

Universal Class
Offering free classes during COVID

Delve into these Authors for Adults

Kim Michele Richardson

Downloadables & More

We encourage everyone to advantage of our multitude of downloadable materials and services that can be accessed remotely with your Goleta Valley Library or Santa Ynez Valley Library card. If you don’t have a library card, you can get one that allows you access to downloadable services by going to Black Gold eCard Registration.

Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library
Currently free to everyone!

International Children's Digital Library
Aspires to have every culture and language represented so that every child can know and appreciate the riches of children's literature from the world community.

Project Gutenberg
Thousands of free e- and audiobooks

Romance Book Cloud
Free books

Loyal Books (formerly Books Should Be Free)
Thousands of free eBooks and audiobooks in the public domain.

The Virtual Book Channel
The best of the literary book club every day

Tumble Book Library
K-6 children's ebook database

Patrons can also order books or audiobooks not owned by the library for home delivery by filling out a Zip Books Request Form. If you would like reading recommendations of downloadable books, fill out the Personalized Reading List form and receive a list just for you. What will YOU borrow from the E-Library?

Music & Podcasts

Music

Andrew Lloyd Weber Musicals 1 each week

Country Music Hall of Fame

15 Broadway Musicals You Can Binge from Home

Grammy Museum at Home

List of live-streamed concerts, featuring all different types of music

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Podcasts Etc.

American History Podcasts from the Smithsonian

A Soft Murmur
Ambient sounds to help you focus when working from home.

BBC Forum Podcasts
On all sorts of illuminating topics.

Santa Barbara Theatre of the Air
Free radio productions of 24 works of some of the world's most gifted playwrights.

University of Oxford, England Podcasts

Wellness & Relaxation

Virtual Visits

4K Walking Tours of Various Cities

Anacapa Peregrine Falcon Live Camera

Baby Panda Camera in China

Bryce Canyon National Park Virtual Tour

Carlsbad Cavern National Park Virtual Tour

Catalina Island Eagle Nest Live Camera

Channel Island Live Under Ocean Web Camera

Cracroft Point Orca Lookout Web Camera

Explore the Surface of Mars

Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Virtual Tour

Kenai Fjords National Park Virtual Tour

Las Vegas Neon Museum

Museum of Photographic Arts Online

National Geographic Photography Collection Online

The Northern Lights - Live Stream

Old Faithful, Yellowstone Web Camera

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Surf Along the Ventura Coast - Live Stream

Take a Virtual Tour of Angkor Wat

Take a Virtual Tour of Venice, Italy

Tomb of Queen Meresankh III

Tour many museums from around the world

Virtually Walk the Appalachian Trail with this App

Visit Agra and the Taj Mahal

Visit Easter Island

Visit the Great Wall of China

Visit Machu Pichu

Visit the ancient city of Petra in Jordan

Visit the Pyramids of Giza

Waikiki Beach Web Camera

Wildling Museum Virtual Visit

Writer's Workshop

The Buellton Library Writers' Workshop is a monthly gathering for writers of all levels of expertise to share work, receive feedback, encourage one another and discuss the tools of the trade. All ages from teens to seniors are welcome, and the workshop is open to both non-fiction and fiction of all genres.

The Core of Character Handout

The Core of Character Essay

The Positive Conflict Handout

The Positive Conflict Essay

Children & Teens

Children's Home Education

All Digital School

Amazing Children’s Education Resources

The American Library Association’s List of Notable Websites for Children

Librarians’ 2020 picks for Notable Children's Digital Media

BBCi Reporter
Reporting activities for middle grades

But Why?
A Podcast for Curious Kids

Child’s Play
Activities for you to do with your child to enhance learning all day long.

Coronavirus: A Book for Children

Coronavirus: Clear Answers for All Kids

The Fin, Fur, and Feather Bureau of Investigation
Storytelling and fun activities to teach kids about different places and cultures across the globe

Free & Low Cost Internet
Programs Available to Help Make Internet Service More Affordable

FunBrain
Games, Videos and Books for Kids

Khan Academy
Non-profit offering educational support

Little Brown Publishing Educator Guides

Lonely Planet Activities for Kids

Money Skills

Peachtree At Home Resources for Education

Quarto Kids Publishing Activities for Kids

Quizzes for Kids from National Geographic

Random House Publishing
Resources for Elementary, Middle, & High Schoolers.

Scholastic Daily Learn at Home

Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Connects
Provides all kinds of remote learning activities and opportunities.