When the UDPL Online Resource Center opened at the end of March, our main focuses was on helping our patrons get reliable information about COVID-19, connecting families with educational resources, and making sure that everyone has access to our digital books and other downloadable and streamable collections. We also wanted to make sure that you know how to reach us and reassure you that the librarians are still here to help solve any problems and answer any questions!

This week, we’ve started to add other things to the resource lists. Things to keep you entertained and to make you feel more connected in this uncertain times. We’ve added two different resource lists that include links to to virtual tours of museums, national parks, and other cultural institutions.

The first list focuses specifically on our UDPL Museum Partners. They may be closed and you may not be able to borrow museum passes from us at this time, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t thinking of ways to keep you busy! Whether you want to visit the giraffes and zebras at Elmwood Park Zoo, check in on the butterfly room at the Academy of Natural Sciences or take a virtual field trip of the Museum of the American Revolution, all are possible through our museum partners!

The second list has links to local, national, and international sites of interest. You can virtually walk through museums like the Getty in Los Angeles or ride the Jungle Cruise at Walt Disneyland from your sofa!  If you’re feeling homesick for your own city, the virtual tours from Visit Philadelphia will take you to see the Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal Market, and even Pat’s and Geno’s!

But the resource that may take up the most of your time may be Explore.org’s collection of Animal Webcams! There are over 100 different live camera feeds that make it possible to watch elephants in South Africa, exotic birds in Panama, or a room filled with rescue kittens in Florida! The most popular webcam, though, is that of a bald eagle nest in Iowa. At the time when this post was written, 3897 people from all over the world were social distancing together, keeping an eye on our national bird and her fluffy babies! You can click the play button on the video below to join in!

Who would have thought that watching a bald eagle sit on her nest would be so hard to look away from?!

Please remember that we are here for YOU and that you can reach out to a librarian at any time using our Contact Us form!