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How to beat coronavirus cabin fever — Pittsburgh style

First published March 16, 2020 | Updated June 11, 2020

By now you’ve likely heard the term “social distancing.” And by now we hope you’re practicing it to limit the spread of COVID-19. Need convinced? Read this and this.

Now that you’re on board, you may be wondering, “What am I supposed to do at home for all this time?” 

Well, we’re here to help — and to remind you to warsh your hands – yinzer style.

Here’s a rolling list of Pittsburgh things you can do from the comfort of your couch, for the good of everyone. Let us know if there’s anything we should add by emailing us here.  

Make the best of working from home

🖥 Pick up some tips for working from home, courtesy of our very own COO.

🍼 And pick up some tips for working from home with your kids.

🗣 Learn some crisis communication tips for your business in this workshop with the experts at WordWrite.

Entertain kids (and kids at heart)

💛 Talk to your kids about coronavirus with these tips from the Fred Rogers Center.

📝 Lean on these education resources from WQED Pittsburgh from Pre-K to elementary age.

🖌 Relax with these floral coloring sheets created by an Incline reader.

🎨 Get creative with these coloring sheets of Pittsburgh places, like the Aviary, the Incline, Idlewild, and Dippy the Dinosaur.

📖 Listen to a Pittsburgh Public Schools principal read your kids (or you!) a bedtime story.

🔭 Keep the whole family learning with Carnegie Science Center’s daily list of something to read, something to watch, and something to do.

💥 Check out some Boredom Busters for kids in this new Facebook group created by a Pittsburgher.

🐧 Bring the zoo to you with these animal web cams from Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

💐 Study the language of flowers, have fun with mad libs, and more with resources from the Frick Pittsburgh.

📺 Have your teen hang out with fellow teenagers in these JCC events, from XBox tournaments to virtual learning to Netflix parties.

🖌 Search by grade level for educational resources by Carnegie Museum of Art.

📕 Find STEAM activities, storytime videos, and crafts through the Allegheny County Library Association’s online platform.

🤖 Craft a PIT Robot Repair bot and share a picture of your creation with the artist.

💫 Keep on making with Virtual Assemble, an after-school digital meet up for kids to get creative using common household items.

🌳 Keep kids connected to nature with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s “Parks on the Go” initiative.

🤖 Explore robotics and computer science at home with BirdBrain Technologies.

Enjoy the arts at home

📖 Stay in and read with Carnegie Library’s virtual challenge. Maybe even join an online book club. And maybe even read books by Pittsburgh authors and about Pittsburgh.

👀 Discover all the intricate details in the Mattress Factory’s Greer Lankton’s “It’s all about ME, Not You” with this GigaPan.

🎭 Enjoy the theater from the comfort of your couch with Playtime, an online reading series by Pittsburgh Public Theater.

🥁 Brighten up a friend’s day with a custom video greeting by Punk & Pie Circus, a local juggle-drumming clown.

Get a history lesson with Heinz History Center’s online resources, including artifacts and digital tours.

🖼 Relax while admiring Van Gogh’s artwork and other pieces in the Carnegie Museum of Art’s collection and archives.

👗 Admire gilded-age fashion, learn about old cars, and check out some art with these virtual tours from The Frick Pittsburgh.

🚂 Tour a Pennsylvania museum, from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to the Museum of the American Revolution.

🌎 Take virtual tours of museums around the world. (This one isn’t in Pittsburgh, but it was too cool not to share.)

💰 Support the Pittsburgh Artist Emergency Fund, if you can, to help artists who’ve lost their main source of income right now.

Rock out

🎧 Listen to this artist spotlight on Mac Miller by WYEP.

🎵 Groove to these local live-streamed music performances.

🎻 Enjoy the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at home with their new series “Extraordinary Measures.”

🎼 Experience the Pittsburgh Opera at home with these Intermezzo videos “Opera@Home” radio broadcasts.

☘️ Tap your toes to these Irish tunes, livestreamed through the Pittsburgh Irish Festival.

Move your body

Practice mindfulness or get some exercise with these free online classes from the YMCA’s YWithYou initiative.

🎉 Workout from home with a Virtual Zumba Party.

Get moving with these Meraki Studio classes on Instagram live.

🙏 Practice yoga at home with Inhale Pittsburgh.

💪 Get sweaty with a virtual 305 in the 412 Fitness class.

👟 Stretch it out with these virtual JCC classes, from Silver Sneakers to core workouts.

Sit back and watch

🍷 Sip some wine while learning about wines during a virtual class with Burghundy LLC.

🥂 Transport your tastebuds to France and Italy in these wine classes from Palate Partners.  

👑 Watch a drag show by Pittsburgh queen Schwa de Vivre featuring “makeup, wigs, drags, drinks, dishing, and DRAMA.” And watch a quarantine-themed cabaret.

🍿 Watch movies made in Pittsburgh — including Striking Distance — and learn why everybody says “Take Bigelow.”

😂 Laugh out loud at this Knights of the Arcade: Online Adventure by Arcade Comedy Theater.

🎬 Binge-watch Dean Bog’s YouTube videos about Pittsburgh neighborhoods. 

🎥 “Go” to the movies with Row House Online, the newest offering from the Lawrenceville theater.

🍿 Stream full episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

👟 Explore Pittsburgh’s steps without having to climb the stairs by catching up on Mis.Steps.

🔍 Go on a virtual scavenger hunt around ‘tahn with Streetlark.

🎟 Take a virtual tour of Pittsburgh — ya know, in case you miss it. 

🌳 Take a nature break with WQED’s soothing one-minute videos.

💙 Visit the Cathedral of Learning and the Nationality Rooms with a virtual tour.

Get creative

🎨 Follow along with Miss Gabi’s Art Is Good Studio for an art tutorial.

🌱 Make seed-starter pots with City Paper pages. 

📝 Have fun with words and virtually hang out with the Haiku Ninja while writing a collaborative Haiku centered on a work of art.

👕 Contribute a piece of fabric to the OAM Pittsburgh Community Fashion Project by Idia’Dega.

🏺 Make a sculpture with a to-go clay kit from Spring Hill’s Little House Big Art (they’ll even deliver it to you!).

🖼 Get crafty with Creativebug Online Craft tutorials, courtesy of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

✍️ Take cartooning lessons for all ages with internationally syndicated local cartoonist Joe Wos.

😹 Video your cat doing cute, funny, brave, or loving things for Row House Cinema’s Quarantine Cat Film Festival.

🤓 See if you can figure out this Pittsburgh-themed crossword puzzle created by an Incline reader.

🗣 Brush up on your foreign language skills with Pittsburgh-based language learning app Duolingo.

And a reminder: If staying home has you feeling anxious or depressed, there are resources to help

— By Rossilynne Culgan and Colin Deppen


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