While you can’t get out see Melbourne’s cultural institutions and sights in person at the moment, many are making extraordinary efforts to bring us closer to creativity, culture, entertainment and learning! Here’s a little guide we threw together to keep you engaging in all of the best things Melbourne has to offer.

MAY:

* Good Beer Week is kicking off with a Virtual Good Beer Week Friday 15th May, with events being updated over on their Facebook page here.

For the Whole Family

* Craft Victoria has a Crafternoon Kids Hub  for kids and inner-children alike. There are step-by-step guides to make your own fossils, No Worries Dolls or finger puppet families, and then there’s their Meet the Maker series of interviews, short documentaries about craft makers, and exhibition behind-the-scenes content too.

* SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium are live-streaming everything from sessions with their penguins to their jellyfish and their water dragons, so for some educational streaming for the whole family, you can check their live-streams suitable for the whole family here.

* Melbourne Zoos have you sorted by bringing the zoo to you with #AnimalsAtHome live-cams from both Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo – snow leopard cubs, giraffe feeding times and Healesville

* The Legoland Discovery Centre is hosting Live Workshops and Fundays which will provide entertainment for the whole family

* Melbourne Museum at Home has plenty of activities for at Melbourne Museum at Home, along with exhibitions that are available for virtual tours so everyone can get their dinosaur fix in .

For the Adults

* Laneway Learning has taken a number of its classes online. You can learn how to crochet, macrame, get into some drawing and home cooking classes, all delivered online at minimal costs. Check out their available classes here.

* Melbourne Cinémathèque in conjunction with ACMI has become the Virtual Cinémathèque, offering double bills that showcase classic and contemporary films on specific directors, performers or a thematic. Films announced on Tuesdays, and more info on how to create a virtual collective and communal screening experience here.

* The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has an online concert series from the MSO archives is being broadcast every Thursday night at 7.30pm and every Sunday at 3pm. Up to date info on the concerts here

*  You can still explore the National Gallery of Victoria online too. You can check out virtual tours of exhibitions, including Keith Haring & Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines ; KAWS ; and Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV. The NGV’s full range of virtual offerings here , and they’re sharing daily art inspiration on #NGVEveryDay over on Instagram too. If you’re feeling creative yourself,  the NGV’s Drop-by Drawing program has been taken online with a How To Series on Sketching.

* While The Melbourne International Comedy Festival –  which is one of the three largest comedy festivals in the world, alongside Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival – may not be going ahead in 2020, there’s still plenty of comedy gold to keep you laughing at home. Comedy sets are available through their YouTube channel , and there is a  guide to both Australian and International comedy podcasts here too.

* You can also explore the State Library of Victoria from the comfort of your own home with their online galleries including past and present exhibitions including the recent Velvet, Iron, Ashes exhibition

* Do a virtual tour of Melbourne Theatre Company HQ here and find out about theatre recordings you can watch online via MTC NOW.

* And finally, you can get your end of week boogie sorted with Friday nights at home with Mr. McClelland’s Finishing School. A regular club night, DJ Andrew McClelland is bringing his joyful night of pop into your homes from 9PM Fridays, rotating between his usual mix of pop and more specific focuses like BritPop on alternating weeks.