Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) technologies are radically transforming the way education is delivered. Teachers are now able to project rich digital data onto the physical environment of their classrooms thus creating immersive and hands-on learning experiences. AR/VR have the potential to facilitate the learning of complex concepts and phenomena, boost students motivation through incorporating game-based learning, and promote self-directed and social emotional learning.
I have already reviewed some interesting AR resources to use with your students in class. In today's post, I am sharing with you this helpful AR resource from Google Arts & Culture to help you take students on virtual field trips to some of the most popular museums around the world. In doing so, students will get to learn about different cultures, discover ancient artefacts artworks, and explore the human history right from the comforts of their own places.
For more museum options to use with students, check out this collection from Google Arts & Culture featuring over 1200 international museums. Students can also search for museums by geographical area using this map.
To access any of the museums below, head over to this page on Google Arts & Culture, scroll down to find museum then click to explore it virtually.
1- The British Museum, London, UK
The British Museum in London (UK) holds art collections that cover over two million years of human history and culture. "Nestled in what was once one of London's most fashionable residential areas, the British Museum is home to a widespread collection of world art and artefacts. Have a virtual wander round the Great Court and its iconic glass and steel roof - the largest covered square in Europe - before visiting cultural treasures such as the Rosetta Stone and an original Easter Island statue.."
2- Guggenheim Museum, New York
"The unique corkscrew design of New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum means that visitors can journey up its spiralling ramp and view its collection of art in one continuous, unbroken journey. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building is home to a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Modern and Contemporary Art."
3- Musée d'Orsay, Paris
"Once a Beaux-Arts railway station on the bank of the Seine, the Musée d'Orsay is now one of the largest art museums in Europe. Take a virtual tour of the impressive art-nouveau building and you can admire a vast array of French art from 1848 to 1914, including masterpieces by Monet, Cézanne and Gauguin."
4- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
"One of Korea's only museums dedicated to Modern and Contemporary art, MMCA is spread over 4 buildings, located in Gwacheon, Deoksugung, Seoul, and Cheongju. Take a virtual tour of MMCA Seoul, in the heart of the city, which spans across 6 floors and admire its collection of global Contemporary art from Korea and beyond."
5- The Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany
The Pergamon museum "houses three of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin’s collections: the Antikensammlung, Vorderasiatisches Museum, and the Museum für Islamische Kunst. The impressive reconstructions of massive archaeological structures – the Pergamon Altar, Market Gate of Miletus, the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way from Babylon, and the Mshatta Facade – have made the Pergamonmuseum famous throughout the world, with the result that it is the most visited museum at the Staatliche Museen and in Germany as a whole."
6- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
"The Riksmuseum is where you can find over 8,000 objects of art and history on display from the years 1200 to 2000 — just a fraction of the museum's collection of 1 million objects. Take a virtual tour and see if you can spot iconic artworks from the Dutch Golden Age by notable painters such as Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt."
7- The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
"California's J. Paul Getty Museum provides a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and views of Los Angeles for its collection of art. It houses works dating from the 8th through the 21st century, including European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European, Asian, and American photographs."
8- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
"The Uffizi Gallery is the legacy of the art collection of Florence's ruling house of Medici. The U-shaped building contains works by Renaissance Old Masters such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli and Titian. The building was originally constructed to house the administrative and judiciary offices: "uffizi" means offices in Italian."
9- MASP, São Paulo
"This architectural landmark in São Paulo was designed by Lina Bo Bardi and is Brazil's first modern museum. The floating design is mirrored in its internal art displays, with its collection of artworks suspended in perspex frames that makes it appear like the canvases are hovering above the ground."
10- National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
"Explore this museum and you'll find, at its centre, a huge pond underneath a vast square concrete structure supported by a single pillar known as el paraguas, or the umbrella. Around this are 23 exhibit rooms displaying treasures, including Mayan civilization artefacts, The Stone of the Sun and giant stone heads that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz."
