Online Activity Kits for Seniors

Fountaindale’s Outreach Department has compiled an array of virtual kits for our senior patrons. These interactive kits include eBooks, streaming movies, music, at-home crafts and virtual tours to keep you entertained at home using our eResources and Digital Collection.

Our selection of themes includes Tales and Travel, Hooray for History, Mystery Madness, Incredible Inventions and much more! Explore on and keep your eyes open for many more to come! And if you want a new virtual activity made, please email us at outreach@fountaindale.org.

Tales and Travel: Italy

Learn about Italian culture with CultureGrams.
Try your hand at Italian cooking with the help of Universal Class.
Watch From the Vine on Kanopy. A downtrodden man experiences an ethical crisis and travels back to his hometown in rural Italy to recalibrate his moral compass. There he finds a new purpose in reviving his grandfather’s old vineyard, offering the small town of Acerenza a sustainable future, and reconnecting with his estranged family in the process.
Read The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden on Libby.

Tales and Travel: National Parks

Read Wildlife Watching in America’s National Parks by Gary W. Vequist on Axis360.
Use the Park Finder tool from Find Your Park to pinpoint the places that match your ideal trip.
Take an online art journaling class from Creativebug and learn how to document your park visit in a creative way.
Learn more about the history of these legendary places and how essential their protection and preservation are in ensuring these sites are enjoyed for generations to come. Learn what to pack when heading to a national park.
Take a virtual tour of five national parks in the US, offered by Google Arts & Culture.

Tales and Travel: Mexico

Read This Is Mexico: Tales of Culture and Other Complications by Carol M. Merchasin on hoopla.
Read Mexico City Travel Tips and Hacks from Ideal Travel Masters on hoopla. Learn where to find great food, how to get around the city and tips for staying safe.
Watch Frida (2002) on hoopla, starring Salma Hayek.
Tour the National Museum of Mexican Art, one of the most prominent first-voice institutions for Mexican art and culture in the United States.
Make a Mexican food dish with these recipes on Universal Class.
Learn Mexican history and culture on CultureGrams.
Learn Spanish on Mango Languages.

Chicago: My Kind of Town

Read Devil in the White City by Erik Larson on Axis360.
Watch Chicago, Academy Award Winner for Best Picture (2003) on hoopla.
Check out Chicago magazine for insight into the best dining and shopping to interviews with fascinating figures shaping the future of Chicago. Available on Libby.
Watch Passionate Nature: Chicago Parks of Alfred Caldwell on Kanopy to learn about Caldwell’s life and career.
Take virtual tours of Chicago’s world-famous attractions and iconic landmarks through ChooseChicago.com.

Old Hollywood

Read From Old Hollywood to New Brunswick by Charles Foster on hoopla to discover tales from the golden age of film, radio, theatre and music, including international adventures from Moscow to Berlin and beyond.
Watch How Hollywood Does It: Creating the Magic of Film on Kanopy, and enjoy discussions and clips from some of the films that made this era of Hollywood so memorable.
Connect with other future filmmakers in Studio 300. Take a class or get creative in our studio spaces.
Listen to Scandals of Classic Hollywood by Ann Helen Peterson on CD audiobook, and learn about America’s fascination with celebrity culture from the golden age of American cinema.

Mystery Madness: British Murder Mystery

Read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley on Axis 360.
Watch Agatha Christie’s Marple on hoopla. Geraldine McEwan is the ladylike sleuth, a wispy senior citizen who blows the police professionals out of the water with her keen insight and shrewdly analytical nature, Marple has lived a long time—and she’s paid attention.
Make classic British Foods with these recipes from The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines. Available on Libby,
Take a virtual tour of Buckingham Palace, offered for free by the official web site of the British Royal Family.

Hooray for History: Elvis Presley

Learn more about the King as you listen to Being Elvis: a Lonely Life by Ray Connolly on hoopla.
Relive the legend of Elvis as you watch The King: The Rise and Fall of Elvis Presley on Kanopy.
Treat yourself to this Elvis Presley-inspired cake from AllRecipes.com.
Learn to play the guitar from home. Take a lesson on LinkedIn Learning.

Hooray for History: The 1960s

Read the true story of The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel on Axis360.
Relax as you listen to Surfin’ Safari by The Beach Boys on Freegal.
Create a baked good from the 1960s with The Vintage Baker by Jessie Sheehan from hoopla.
Learn the craft of macrame that was popular in the 1960s with virtual classes on Creativebug.

I Love a Good Yarn: Knit and Crochet

Read The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber on Axis360.
Watch the documentary Yarn: Artists Redefining Knitting and Crochet on Kanopy.
Use Creativebug to knit a baby hat, slippers, necklace and more!
Browse digital editions of Fun Crochet Magazine. Every edition is filled with crochet patterns for projects for your home, to wear or for gifts.
Do you want to learn how to knit? You can take an online knitting course through Universal Class.
Are you interested in giving back? Check out some of these knitting and crocheting charities.

Incredible Inventions

Read The 100 Most Influential Inventors of All Time, edited by Robert Curley, on Axis 360.
Watch this series from The Great Courses: Inventions that Changed the World on Kanopy.
Create your own invention with Instructables.
Listen to the audiobook, How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World, by Steven Johnson. Explore the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences.

Just for the Health of It

Access our database Consumer Health Report to read materials covering all areas of health and wellness, such as the articles Medications That Boost Bone Health and Keep the “Healthy” in Your Holidays.
Read Healthy Aging by Andrew Weil on Axis360 to learn about the science of aging and the secrets of healthy longevity.
Watch Fat: A Documentary on Kanopy. This film exposes the widespread myths and lies around healthy eating, fat and weight loss and shows how, in spite of all our good intentions, we go on getting fatter and fatter.
Try art therapy. De-stress with a relaxing craft from Creativebug.
Take a yoga, reiki, homeopathy or meditation class on Universal Class.

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Monday – Thursday	9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday – Saturday	9:00 AM – 6:00 PM