Maybe you’ve seen the hashtag #MuseumBouquet that sprouted online and spread like wildflowers across social media. Museums across the world are sending each other paintings, photos and other artistic renderings of flowers—bright spots amid the coronavirus gloom.

The idea sprouted a few weeks ago between two curators on the East Coast, but Iowa museums have been stepping up their social game, too, even while their physical galleries are closed. From Sioux City to Muscatine, museum teams are rolling out virtual tours, online photo albums and video demonstrations so you can visit a #MuseumFromHome.

The Des Moines Art Center unveiled a series of 360-degree videos that allow you to virtually stroll through the galleries to see plenty of the permanent collection, plus the current show by the Scottish sculptor Karla Black, who makes things out of crumpled paper, glitter, powdered paint, cosmetics and hand sanitizer (a timely coincidence).

Iowa State University Museums organized an "Art Madness" bracket to show off its Art on Campus collection—one of the biggest in the country—and invited folks to vote online for their favorites. The champion: Christian Petersen’s "Gentle Doctor," the sculpture of a man cradling an ailing puppy, on display at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Dubuque Museum of Art has been encouraging people to wear or display a color of the week and recently posted photos of the Dubuque Telegraph Herald building and MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center lit up in blue. The museum’s education staff—and their counterparts at the Sioux City Art Center, Muscatine Art Center and Iowa Children’s Museum in Coralville—have been pumping out art activities for families cooped up at home.

And if you’re free tonight, pour yourself a glass of wine, cut up some cheese cubes and join a virtual reception. From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Facebook Live, you can tour the Polk County Heritage Gallery and hear from some of the participating artists in "20 Artists, 20 Parks," a new exhibition the Arts Council organized with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University to celebrate the centennial of Iowa’s state parks in 2020. And then, maybe this weekend, why not explore the parks in person? They’re still wide open.

Need a break? You’re in luck.

You can take an #IowaCultureCoffeeBreak at 3 p.m. every weekday on Facebook at @IowaCulture, where you’ll find live performances, virtual museum tours and other bits of inspiration from across the state. The series launched a few weeks ago and has already featured a live tour of the Art Church in Malvern (pictured), an old church that artist Zack Jones turned into an art studio, plus a mix of mini-concerts from Des Moines Metro Opera, a pipe organ in Clermont, and the carillon at the top of the Iowa State University Campanile. Singer-songwriter Chad Elliott played a few tunes from Lamoni the day before the Red Cedar Chamber Music duo tuned in from their home in Iowa City, for their first performance without an in-person audience.

"It was very different," says violinist Miera Kim, who performs with her husband, cellist Carey Bostian. "We’re used to performing in very intimate spaces, where people are sitting as close as four feet away, but people left comments and likes, so the feedback was positive."

If you know other Iowa artists or musicians who should star in an #IowaCultureCoffeeBreak, send an email to iowa.culture@iowa.gov. Or better yet, leave a comment on the next post. They’re taking requests.