Extra Slice Info:
Every week our librarians will be taking you on a tour around the web with bonus links for our weekly theme.
Issue Six: You Are Here
This week we’re giving out some love to local links. Did you know that this year marks Arlington County’s 100th birthday? Celebrate with us as we explore some cool Arlington-related activities.
Puzzles have been having a moment. If you’ve run out of jigsaws to do from your family’s closets, this site has 40 online jigsaw puzzles of Arlington historic sites.
Arlington Parks & Recreation has put together a bunch of activities that you and your family can participate in from home. Check out their list of activities for all ages to “Recreate at home.” Go to arlingtonteens.com to find great resources and high school students can learn more about The Teen Network Board. You could apply to join this summer!
Now is an excellent time to explore the digital offerings from your local library system! Take a look at our archives and create your own entry into the local history Covid-19 Archive project. Plus, check out the library’s Quaranzine, which is full of amazing art, poetry and other creativity from our local community.
Don’t forget that if you need even more picks besides our teen summer booklists, you can check out the library’s section of lots more handpicked lists. Or, maybe you’d rather page through a digital magazine.
Issue Five: Best in Show
It’s time to celebrate our animal companions this week!
If your time at home is without a cute animal to dote on, you can virtually hang out with kittens via a kitten cam here, and there’s a puppy cam option too. If you’d rather imagine what it would be like to spend time with a zebra or a lion, you can check out the San Diego Zoo’s feed as well.
Extra, Extra, you can read all about cats and dogs in magazines devoted just to them. Get the latest in Modern Cat, or Modern Dog. There’s also Catster and Dogster to keep you up to date on all the pet news!
Simon Tofield, the creator of the cartoon, Simon’s Cat, has teamed up with real cat specialists to create short info clips about real cat behavior and how to treat your pet cat. You can watch these cute videos and learn about your pet here.
Are you looking for something fun to listen to while you’re hanging out with your gerbil or your goldfish? How about a podcast? Here’s a great list of podcasts about pets. If your tortoise is more a fan of radio, check out NPR’s Speaking of Pets.
Finally, are you and your family some of the many people who have recently adopted or fostered a pet? Our local pals at The Animal Welfare League of Arlington are a great resource if you’re looking for advice about pet care.
Issue Four: Game Day
This week we're cheering on our players and sports teams:
The DC area has teams for all kinds of sports fans! Do you root for The Mystics or The Wizards, The Capitals, D.C. United, Washington Spirit or a different team? While you’re away from the stadium this summer, you can still check in with your favorite players.
Remember last year when our summer reading partner, the Washington Nationals, won the World Series? Watch video recaps of the championship run. And get some book recommendations from closing pitcher, Sean Doolittle through “It’s Lit,” a talk show shot in his kitchen.
Did you know that the DC area has a roller derby league? There’s also a major league rugby team! What about cricket? There’s a team for that too! Have you watched curling in the Olympics and wanted to get a closer look at the sport? Check out the local curling team! Now is the perfect time to figure out the rules and read up on the players!
The books of world records and amazing facts are always flying off our shelves. If you’re a fan of finding the most extreme versions of sports, you can go directly to the source. You can also virtually visit the halls of fame of your favorites, like the Baseball Hall in Cooperstown, NY or the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Not only is Arlington a great place to be a sports fan, it’s also been the home of many famous athletes. Arlington is the birthplace of several sports stars. It’s also been home to teams that were important to the history of sports, like The Virginia White Sox. Arlington has its own hall of fame and you can check out the inductees here.
Issue Three - Spark Your Creativity
This week is all about getting creative!
In Northern Virginia and DC there are lots of amazing museums that you can wander through to get your imagination sparking. From home you can take a virtual tour of The Smithsonian American Art Museum or The National Museum of African American History and Culture. A virtual visit will also give you the chance to make a list of all the exhibits to see in person as soon as you can.
Once you get your creativity rolling, DC’s Project Create has tons of classes by local artists for you to try. The Hirshhorn Museum has been putting out quick how-to-videos if you’re looking to add just a touch of art to a busy day.
What if you’re an artist in the performing arts? The Round House Theater is issuing teen acting challenges every week, with ways to sharpen your craft.
For dance fans, The Dance Place has free virtual dance classes for teens! George Mason’s Arts at Home program also wants to get you moving: you can take a ballroom dance class for beginners.
After all that inspiration and activity, maybe you’d just like to take a moment to relax and color. Finish out your day of excellent art with coloring sheets from the National Portrait Gallery.
Issue Two: The Hottest Ticket in Town - Virtual Events and Concerts
One of the things that you might be missing during these times are the chances to go out and see live music and performances. From big outdoor shows to small classical performances, getting to see music performed live is something special. Here are some ways to make sure that your summer is still filled with those unique moments of musical magic:
If you’re a music fan, you might know that the Kennedy Center has free daily concerts at their Millennium Stage. But did you know that they also steam and archive those concerts for you to watch when you want? Their videos are divided by genre, so it makes it easy for you to find what you’re looking for, whether you love hip hop, theater or jazz.
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts:
For over ten years NPR has been bringing tiny concerts to your phone or living room direct from their offices in Washington D.C. This means there’s a huge archive with something for everyone. Please pay attention to content notices on individual concerts and watch with parent permission.)
During the summer, the Folklife Festival offers a ton of different performances from musicians and dancers from all over the world. This year’s festival has been postponed, but you can dig into all the cool performances from years past in their video archive. Because every year has multiple themes, there are a wide variety of artists to check out!
The 9:30 Club is a short metro ride away from Arlington. This year marks a big birthday for the concert venue (forty!) and you can stream the full version of a bunch of their shows in celebration. (Please pay attention to content notices on individual concerts and watch with parent permission.)
Classical fans can head on a virtual vacation to the UK. The London Symphony Orchestra lets you pick your performances, but it also lets you pick where you sit in the audience and which musicians are in your view--something you probably couldn’t do if you were there in person!
Issue One: Wish You Were Here - Virtual Vacation Spots
Virtual Vacations:
Summer often brings to mind packed bags and airplane tickets, or maybe jumping into the family car and setting off on a grand road trip. Even though this summer is looking a little different, you can still have the experience of kicking back and reading a book with a glorious vista in the background... even if it’s a virtual one.
International Wonders without a Passport:
From the comfort of your own home, you can take a break from reading your airport paperback thriller to check out the grounds of the Taj Mahal or take a look around the Pyramids of Egypt. You can even read with the sights and sounds of Hawaiian volcanoes in the background.
Museum Hop from Country to Country in One Afternoon:
Have lunch while checking out priceless works of art at the Louvre, then sip your tea as you tour Buckingham Palace. Take an after-tea jaunt through the Musée d’Osay in Paris and while you’re at it, why not finish off your trip with a walk through the halls of the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York City?
Rest and Relax with the Beauty of Nature in the Background:
What is a beach read without a few lapping waves? How about the beach on Waimea Bay in Oahu, Hawaii or a view from the Santa Monica Pier? Or take a relaxing break from video calls to sit among the giant Redwoods in California.
Bring Your Own Cotton Candy:
Is your summer normally filled with the smells of fried food and the sounds of roller coasters whizzing by? You could share the book you’re reading with some of the animals at the San Diego Zoo as you watch their live cams. You can even try out a coaster from your bed with a virtual trip to Sea World.
But My Book is So Good, I Don’t Want to Look Up:
If you just want a soundtrack to read by, that can be arranged as well. Wish you were reading at a coffee shop on a rainy day? Or maybe you’d like to be paging through your book while sitting in front of the fire at Bilbo Baggin's House? Or make any bibliophile’s dream come true by reading next to Belle in the Beast’s Library.