SWAMPSCOTT — Cocktail recommendations, online yoga and fitness courses, and even virtual tours of famous museums like the Louvre — Swampscott Recreation wants residents to know there is still plenty to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swampscott Recreation has created a Virtual Recreation Center to offer activities for residents while they are stuck at home. Unlike the state government, Swampscott has instituted a mandatory stay-at-home order, with fines of up to $1,000 enforceable on residents who leave home for something other than essential activities, such as getting food or supplies.
On Mondays at 5 p.m., Tuesdays at 5 p.m., Wednesday at 8 a.m., and Thursday at 5 p.m., workouts are being offered, from yoga to “BollyX” dance fitness. A separate “Health and Wellness” section of the online center has suggestions on “energy-busting” indoor activities, such as obstacle courses that may be made at home using tape.
Another page has activities to do with pets, such as “brain games” training pets with red and green lights, or exercises to keep dogs healthy and active while they miss their normal walks.
Residents have also been offering some fun themselves, posting food and drink recipes to the Swampscott Recreation Facebook page, and pictures from virtual cocktail parties.
For example, Maia Gosselin of the Swampscott-based Sip Wine Education posted her “Isolation Libation: Frozen in Time” cocktail — it’s a blend of ice cubes, dark chocolate almond milk, a banana, raspberries, one to two ounces of Tito’s Vodka, just under an ounce of Boston Harbor Distillery Seymour’s Coffee Liqueur, and a splash of chambord.
One prominent feature of the Swampscott Recreation Virtual Recreation Center is a compilation of virtual museum tours offered by famous institutions across the globe, including the British Museum, the Louvre, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Van Gogh Museum, the Vatican, and NASA. Current exhibits residents may “visit” include the Louvre’s Egyptian Antiquities and every exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where a three-dimensional camera system has been set up to allow people to view dinosaur fossils and meteors simply by clicking and dragging their computer’s mouse.
There’s also activities for the entire family, including a virtual storytime from Swampscott Recreation Director Danielle Sisino Strauss and her golden retriever, Lilly, each morning — this experience is included in an ongoing “stay-at-home-cation” for Swampscott children to benefit the local Anchor Food Pantry.
Visit www.swampscottma.myrec.com for information on participating in Swampscott Recreation’s virtual activities.
