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Health & Wellness : Intellectual
Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual wellness encourages learning and inspires exploration. This module includes activities and resources to help you develop your intellectual wellness.
About
What is Intellectual Wellness?
It is important to explore new ideas and perspectives in order to become more mindful and better-rounded. Having an optimal level of intellectual wellness inspires exploration. Intellectual wellness also stimulates curiosity, which is important because it motivates you to try new things and develop an understanding of how you see the relationship between yourself, others, and the environment.
Activities
Here are some activities that you can try to stimulate your mind:
- Visit a museum or gallery.You can find museums and galleries near you - open in a new tab on a variety of subjects, from science to local history. You can also virtually explore museums, art, and scenery from around the world in the virtual tours at Google Arts & Culture - open in a new tab
- Attend a cultural event.Explore new ideas while engaging with the community.
- Participate in a hands-on activity.Many people learn by doing. Learn something new or improve your knowledge by doing and practicing.
- Read a new book. You can check out a book or download an ebook from your college library or your local public library.
- Participate in a discussion group.Many courses include discussion groups for talking about class topics. You can also join a group like a book club to discuss topics for your own enjoyment.
- Try brain training exercises. You can sign up for a daily email of brain training exercises, or download an app.
- Try a fun activity that makes you think.Play a board game. Try a puzzle (jig saw, crossword, Sudoku, etc.).
- Try a free online course. There are many websites with courses that are either partially or entirely free, such as Coursera - open in a new tab, edX - open in a new tab, and Codecademy - open in a new tab.
Explore Your College Library
How to Spark Your Curiosity, Scientifically
Watch this video to learn about how to spark curiosity with hands-on experiments.
Resources
- Museums Ontario - open in a new tabSearch for museums by name, location, or type, and see some of the events taking place at museums in the province.
- Ontario Public Libraries - opens in a new tabFind the website for your local public library.
- TED Talks - opens in a new tabWatch talks on a variety of intriguing and inspiring topics.
- Ted Talk: "Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator"Motivation waning? Watch this funny Talk from Tim Urban about the mind of someone who procrastinates and how that affects their lives.
- TED Talks: Try Something New for 30 DaysIs there something you want to try, or something you’ve always wanted to do? Watch this video to learn about a strategy for branching out: try something for 30 days.
- Behaviours in DementiaAn online library of free resources to help you better understand and compassionately respond to dementia-related changes in mood and behaviour.
- Google Arts & CultureExplore museums, art, and scenery from around the world. This Google project partnered with over 2500 museums and galleries, such as the Van Gogh Museum, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Guggenheim Museum. You can even explore a few US National Parks, such as the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. You can also try some online games, like an art crossword or creating your own "Blob Opera".
- Heritage Ottawa Virtual ToursA list of virtual tours of museums, heritage houses, and online collections. The list starts with Ottawa areas sites and expands to include sites from the rest of Ontario and Canada, as well as some sites from the US.
- Canadian Museum of NatureTake a virtual tour of this museum. You can click on some items in the tour to learn more about them.
- The British Museum - The Museum of the WorldLearn about significant objects from human history and discover links between them in this interactive online experience.
- The Louvre art galleryTake a virtual tour of some of the Louvre's famous art exhibits.
- Toronto ZooA list of the various ways you can see the animals at the zoo virtually, including Facebook live events and a YouTube channel.