Screen free things to do this weekend
Looking for things to do this weekend? While we are all staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives our Communications team want to share with you some free activities that you can do without leaving the house.
This week we wanted to share a few things you can do to enjoy some screen free time.
Stargazing:
Today is ‘Space Day’, and tomorrow is International Astronomy day, so what better time to look up to the stars?
If it’s a clear sky, you can spot plenty of constellations from your window, or garden. On the 5/6 May between midnight and dawn you may even catch a glimpse of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower which is linked to Comet Halley. You won’t need any special equipment to see something just wrap up warm and grab a comfy chair.
If you would like a guide to what you can see you can download a free app like Night Sky or print out Astronomy Now’s free sky chart.
For children, there are lots of space themed activities to try like building a model spacecraft or creating torn paper planets. NASA have lots of ideas to try.
Get back to nature
Having a connection with nature is great for our health and wellbeing . Even if you have the smallest of outdoor spaces The Shropshire Wildlife Trust have shared lots of ways that you can encourage wildlife to visit and for children they have a good mix of indoor and outdoor activities to try. We enjoyed the butterfly table. If you do get some new visitors you can use their handy guides to find out about what you have spotted.
If you enjoy bird watching the RSPB have lots of ideas to help your feathered visitors and can help you put a name to any new species you may see in your garden or during daily activities.
Get crafty
Crafting and art activities have been shown to help with symptoms of anxiety, depression and even provide a distraction to chronic pain. And as well as benefiting your wellbeing you can brighten up a friend’s day with your fantastic makes. You don’t have to be artistic to give crafting a go there are lots of things to try from knitting to card making or wood working.
Hobbycraft have a beginners guide to knitting.
Spruce Crafts have lots of ideas to get you started.
Looking ahead to next week, Friday 8 May 2020 is VE Day 75 and we will be posting more on this over the next week. In the meantime, why not have a go at creating some bunting to decorate your home? The BBC has a page entitled Great British Bunting and it includes a template and ideas to get started.
1st May 2020