In today’s post we are revisiting some excellent websites and mobile apps you can use with your students to virtually explore some of the most reputed world museums. Most of these platforms include multimedia exhibition guides, maps, visual illustrations and guided tours to help visitors navigate their way around museums. Explore splendid art works and exhibitions right from the comforts of your own couch!
Websites to take students into virtual field trips
This comprehensive virtual tour allows visitors using a desktop computer (Windows, Mac, Linux) or a mobile device (iPhone, iPad, Android) to take a virtual, self-guided, room-by-room walking tour of the whole museum. You can even browse a list of past exhibits, which is included on the ground floor map (see upper right map buttons).
2- Arctic Tour
Free to the entire K-12 community, our programming use the allure of exciting Arctic dogsled expeditions and Arctic research as the vehicle through which K-12 teachers and students gain an understanding of natural and social sciences while we experience the cultures of the Arctic.
3- Moon Tour
With Moon in Google Earth, you can:
Explore the site by selecting an art collection, an artist or an artwork. Click on the yellow “pegman” icon to visit these institutions virtually. Filter artworks by medium or make a search by keyword. Finally create and share your personal selection of artworks in the “My Galleries” section and explore other users’ galleries.
With Moon in Google Earth, you can:
- Take tours of landing sites, narrated by Apollo astronauts
- View 3D models of landed spacecraft
- Zoom into 360-degree photos to see astronauts' footprints
- Watch rare TV footage of the Apollo missions
Explore the site by selecting an art collection, an artist or an artwork. Click on the yellow “pegman” icon to visit these institutions virtually. Filter artworks by medium or make a search by keyword. Finally create and share your personal selection of artworks in the “My Galleries” section and explore other users’ galleries.
5- Planet in Action
Google Earth is a highly detailed 3D representation of our entire planet. Rather than just looking at it, why not play on it! PlanetInAction.com brings you top quality ideas, applications and concepts that will let you experience your planet in a whole new way.
6- World Wonders Project
From the archaeological areas of Pompeii to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Google’s World Wonders Project aims to bring to life the wonders of the modern and ancient world.
Eternal Egypt is a living record of a land rich in art and history, people and places, myths and religions. The stories of Eternal Egypt are told using the latest interactive technologies, high-resolution imagery, animations, virtual environments, remote cameras, three-dimensional models and more.
There are many ways to begin your journey through Eternal Egypt. The guided tour is a quick way to experience the best that the site has to offer. You can also begin with one of the cultural highlights below, or make your own discoveries using one of the many other ways to explore.
8- A Virtual Tour of Museums and Exhibits
These Sites present over 300 Museums, Exhibits, Points of Special Interest and Real-Time journeys which offer online multimedia guided tours on the Web. Most of the following offer text and pictures, others in addition transmit sound and an occasional movie.
There are many ways to begin your journey through Eternal Egypt. The guided tour is a quick way to experience the best that the site has to offer. You can also begin with one of the cultural highlights below, or make your own discoveries using one of the many other ways to explore.
8- A Virtual Tour of Museums and Exhibits
These Sites present over 300 Museums, Exhibits, Points of Special Interest and Real-Time journeys which offer online multimedia guided tours on the Web. Most of the following offer text and pictures, others in addition transmit sound and an occasional movie.
9- Digital Field Trip to The Rain-forest
Experience a tropical rain forest and learn about the wonders of this incredible environment.
This website contain a great list of several other virtual field trips. Check them out.
iPad Apps for Taking Students on Virtual Field Trips
National Geographic presents a beautiful, award-winning interactive guide to 25 of America's most visited national parks. Included free are photo galleries, visitor information, and maps. Purchase the full guides for an even richer experience—and explore the national parks like never before.
2- The Art of Life
How do objects end up in a museum? Discover the answer to that question from the artworks themselves in this app from the J. Paul Getty Museum. The Life of Art app enables users to retrace the lives of a lidded bowl, a silver fountain, a side chair, and a wall light in the Getty’s collection by examining physical clues. The interactive app features stunning photography, animations, video, and 360 rotations that bring the rich biographies of these objects to life.
3- World Aquariums
Immerse yourself in large amounts of video content from aquariums around the world! A virtual tour application that has compiled in excess of 50 famous aquariums from a variety of places such as the United States, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
Timeline brings to life the paintings of such masters as Botticelli, Da Vinci, Micheclangelo, Van Gogh, Monet, Courbet, Klimt, and 73 others in an eye-catching and easy to navigate format.
5- NPS National Mall
This is the official National Park Service app for the National Mall and Memorial Parks. On your next visit to Washington, D.C., use it to explore many of the most cherished cultural and historical sites in the United States—from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House.
Android Apps for Virtually Exploring Museums
1- Guggenheim
“The Guggenheim’s app will enhance your experience as you walk through the museum and provide you with a wealth of materials to discover at home, including:building and collection guides in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; exclusive audio, video, and photographic documentation for select exhibitions;information on more than 1,300 works from the museum’s collection…and many more “.
2- Timeline- Art Museum
“Timeline brings to life the paintings of such masters as Botticelli, Da Vinci, Micheclangelo, Van Gogh, Monet, Courbet, Klimt, and 73 others in an eye-catching and easy to navigate format.Some of its features include: Complete details of the work including the title, year of completion, actual dimensions, creator, current gallery location, etc. paired with a high-resolution digital image; Brief artist synopsis including date/location of birth/death, completed works, and more; Slide navigation at bottom of screen allows for quick scanning through years, artists, and their paintings…”
3- National Gallery of Art
”Discover highlights of the National Gallery of Art collections. Your Art offers personal access to images, text, and audio. Explore more than 130 beloved works by artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Claude Monet, and others, along with history and conservation notes. Tune in kids to the voices and visions of many of these same artists through 50 audio clips programmed especially for children.”
4- e-Museum
“You can see the high-resolution images and descriptions of approximately 1,000 national treasures and important cultural properties owned by the four museums: Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyusyu National Museum. The images of the items can be freely enlarged, and this allows you to fully appreciate every single detail. Some of picture scrolls and scriptures can be seen throughout from the beginning to the end. Additionally, you can quickly call up your favorite scenes or parts after adding to bookmarks.”
5- Louvre HD
“The application contains a collection of 2300 paintings of the Louvre Museum. Here you will find the works of Raphael, Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Veronese, Delacroix and many other eminent masters of painting.”
6- British Museum
“Discover the treasures of the British Museum and learn the amazing history of its world famous artifacts. Explore objects dating from prehistory to present day, such as fascinating prehistoric stone tools, ancient Egyptian mummies, the Rosetta stone, humongous statues of Kings and Pharaohs, and the breathtakingly beautiful Parthenon marbles.”
7- Natural History Museum
“A superb guide to visit the London Natural History Museum! Learn about the dinosaurs and denizens of the deep sea, living legends, unknown mammals, spectacular birds, marine reptiles, rocks and rare fishes. In no time, you will amaze your friends with fun facts and trivia on natural history.”
