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Virtual Programming

Ideas to Keep Busy

• Virtual Activity Ideas to Stay Engaged

Virtual Classes

• Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems! Join Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home for a LIVE daily doodle lesson at 12:00pm CST. Videos will be available after live on the Kennedy Center YouTube channel. 
• Join the McHarper Manor weekdays on Facebook for a LIVE daily art project tutorial. Art projects will range from watercolor paintings to chalk art to canvas painting and will take place live at 12:00pm CST. Videos will be available after the live class on the McHarper Manor Facebook page. 

At Home Recreational Resources

While we know recreation is usually best enjoyed with others in a social setting, WIU Campus Recreation has a way for you to experience recreation and leisure while practicing social distancing. 

• Check out THESE at home recreational resources.

• Missing group fitness classes or going to the gym?
  • Check out WIU Campus Recreation Facebook page for updated daily/weekly fitness classes.
  • Check out the Planet Fitness Facebook page for live-streamed daily workouts several times a day.
  • Is Yoga more your thing? Check out CorePower Yoga to keep up your practice from the comfort of your living room. 
  • Check out Orange Theory at Home for online fitness classes.
  • For an introduction to mindfulness meditation that you can practice on your own, visit UCLA Health for downloadable guided meditations in both English and Spanish. 

Virtual Theme Parks

From the comfort of your own home enjoy going to some of the world's Amusement Parks. Check out these videos to ride Disney World Attractions. 

• Pirates of the Caribbean
  
• Frozen Ever After
• It's a Small World (we all know you love this catchy tune)
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure
• Peter Pan's Flight
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
• The Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover (TTA Peoplemover)
• Disney Thrill Rides
  • Splash Mountain
  • Space Mountain
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Dinosaur
  • Expedition Everest
  • Tower of Terror
• Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Virtual Tours and Museums 

Experience the best museums from NYC to France to Seoul in the comfort of your own home. Check out these sites to go on virtual tours of different museums and specific exhibits.

• The Louvre
• National Gallery of Art
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
• Van Gogh Museum
• National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
• British Museum

Check out some cool places around the world from National Parks to National Landmarks. 

• Go on a virtual field trip to Ellis Island
• Take a live look at Colonial Williamsburg 
• Tour England through this 360 video
• Virtually discover Yellowstone National Park and 5 other National Parks! 
• Take a walk on the Great Wall of China
• Check out the view from Pompeii through Google Maps 
• Explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover

Animal Webcams 

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my! Just want a cute and cuddly distraction? Check out several different animal live cam options from watching silly sea otters and curious elephants or just mellow out to the hypnotic drifting jellyfish. 

• San Diego Zoo
• Monterey Bay Aquarium 
• Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
• Atlanta’s Zoo Panda Cam
• Georgia Aquarium 
• Ouwehand Park Polar Bears
• Explore Live Cams

​Connect Virtually

• Through Google you can connect virtually with students, staff, and faculty. All WIU students, staff and fauclty have free access to video conferencing with Google Hangouts. This is a great way to “meet up” with your friends, classmates, and student organization members.
  

• Are you a leader of a student organization on campus? Check out our tips for running virtual meetings with your student organization. 

More Fun Things To Do! 

• Check out the 25 Most Interesting Webcams of 2018 
• Have a Netflix Party with friends while watching your favorite shows together! 
• Choose from 15 Broadway plays and musicals that you can watch on stage from home. Musical television more your thing? Check out this list of 11 Musical TV Shows to binge watch while you’re home, in between your remote classes of course!
• Create a collaborative playlist with your friends or jam out to Rita Wilson’s Quarantunes playlist.
• Take up a new hobby such as making towel animals, crocheting, or choose from thousands of other tutorial videos on YouTube. 
• Watch an Opera for free with the Metropolitan Opera
• Listen to a live recording from the Seattle Symphony
• Print off a free printable coloring page from the “Color Our Collections” campaign with coloring sheets from over 100 museums and libraries from around the world.
• WIU free printable coloring pages

Coronavirus Updates and Resources

Western Illinois University (WIU) is continuously updating its information and guidance for the university community to address the changing status of COVID-19. Please visit the university’s website for more information about COVID-19 and its impacts to WIU, precautions that are being taken, prevention measures you can take and a compilation of frequently asked questions.

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