- Learn a new language. Duolingo is free and offers 15 languages, customizable to your native language. Also, ask if your local library offers free access to language programs like Rosetta Stone or Mango.
- Learn a form of martial arts. The local YMCA or a friend’s referral are good places to start.
- Attend a local Mini Maker Faire. Learn about the Maker Movement and find a Mini Maker Faire nearby.
- Visit a farmers or craft market. See who’s growing and creating in your neck of the woods.
- Attend a local TED talk. Find a local TED event or explore the topics online.
- Attend free online college classes. Check out this list of colleges (MIT, Harvard, etc.) that offer free Open CourseWare classes, or see if any colleges near you offer Open CourseWare.
- Shadow a friend at work. You’ve heard of “Take Your Child to Work Day.” This time, be the child and accompany a friend to his or her workplace. Learn what it’s like to be in that field of expertise.
- Research the side you don’t agree with. In high school Speech & Debate Clubs, the students research both sides of a resolution (regardless of which side they are actually on). In a meet, there is a coin toss to determine which side of the resolution the team argues for.
- Read your town’s or neighborhood’s local periodical. Many cities have one or more magazines. Even small neighborhoods have a newspaper covering items that are specific to a few zip codes covering a radius of just a few miles.
- Write letters to your grandparents or other people one or two generations older than you. Or call them, if you or they would prefer a phone call. Listen to their memories. Pay attention to the stories they choose to tell.
Photo by Michel Deschênes (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported): ORBIT 3 Kinetic Sculpture by Carl Pisaturo at Maker Faire 2008.
