Virtually Tour Museums from Around the World

Our monthly events post usually focuses on getting out and around Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Since we are all social distancing this spring, we have expanded our reach to highlight some of the best virtual exhibits from local, national, and international museums.

April is one of the best times of year in the D-M-V! In between those spring showers, we suggest working outdoors so you can make the most out of your outdoor living spaces. Patrick Moran, owner of TLC Design helped us lay out all the steps to planning your own backyard garden. On those rainy days, use our curated list below for a little art inspiration.

LOCAL MUSEUMS

Photo Courtesy National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

In addition to great online teaching resources on their main website, the National Gallery features two online exhibits through Google Arts & Culture. Fashioning a Nation features watercolor renderings of clothing from 1740 to 1895, including many from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, is a collection of works from the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century.

The National Women’s History Museum, Alexandria, VA

While this museum is headquartered locally, for the last 20 years it has actually been the largest online cultural institution dedicated to US women’s history. Online exhibits include political movements, women’s roles during time of war, education, sports and leisure activities, and biographical stories.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC

One of the most popular museums in the area, the National Museum of Natural History has a dynamic self-guided tour through the permanent collection and temporary exhibits. Along the way, check out dinosaur skeletons, animals from around the globe, the Hope Diamond, and even past exhibits. It’s a great way to keep your kids learning about the world around them even when they can’t be in school, and there are plenty of follow-up activities or readings you can do after the tour. While you’re there, stop by the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, both of which have adjoining virtual tours.

Smithsonian Museum of American History

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History bills itself as the greatest single collection of U.S. history in the world, home to more than 1.8 million objects that each, in some fundamental way, defines the American experience. The museum offers about 100 online exhibits from its encyclopedic collections, each with a mix of photos, video, graphics and text on topics ranging from the life of Abe Lincoln (yep, they’ve got the stovepipe hat) to the development of the first artificial heart valve to the 1950s Paint By Number craze.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

While there are plenty of current and past exhibits to explore online here, the real draw is the collections. In the site’s Collections Stories area, museum staff members share objects that resonate for them historically or culturally. And with lots of time to explore, be sure to browse the museum’s vast open-source collections, brimming with letters, documents, photos and artifacts. They convey the wide-ranging African American experience—from a slave ship manifest to a poster of Sidney Poitier’s film To Sir, With Love.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC presents powerful online exhibits featuring videos, timelines, glossaries and image galleries. Themes include Americans and the Holocaust, The Power of Nazi Propaganda, The Art and Politics of Arthur Szyk, and more. Elsewhere on the museum’s site: a deep archive of survivor interviews, moving artifacts like a gallery of 600 ID cards of Holocaust victims and a place to browse the museum’s huge, sobering collections.

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Although it’s closed to the public, Mount Vernon is still hosting some incredible digital experiences. Go on a virtual tour of the estate, review your history with the life and experiences of George Washington, or join one of the daily livestreams. Working from home? Change up your lunch and tune in to their Facebook or YouTube at 12 PM ET Monday – Friday!

Smithsonian National Zoo and National Aquarium

If you’re in need of some animal friends, stop by the National Zoo’s live webcam page to take a look at what these animals are up to: Naked Mole Rats, Lions, Giant Pandas, and Elephants. In addition, the National Aquarium also features live webcams as well as virtual tours of both the DC and Baltimore locations, filled with fun facts along the way!

MUSEUMS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

Detroit Institute of Arts

Considered one of the top six collections in the United States, and recognized for the diversity of its holdings, DIA should not be missed. Their main website offers excellent resources to explore the museum from home.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA

Also known for Richard Meier’s striking architecture, lovely gardens, and amazing views of Los Angeles, the Getty Center showcases works of art from as far back as the 8th century. Take a virtual tour to discover their huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY

Thousands visit the Gugg every day just to explore its epic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building, and thanks to this Google Arts & Culture tour you can still wander its halls from your couch. Peruse the museum’s most significant offerings of postmodern, conceptual and installation art, then head to the homepage for a bumper database of its entire collection.

Museum of Modern Art, New York

You can view 129 artworks from MoMA’s collection on Google Arts & Culture, including big-hitters like van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Apples and Rousseau’s The Sleeping Gypsy. What’s more, they’re grouped into categories such as contemporary art, Modernist art and Cubism – making for fun, easy and informative browsing. And, if the collection inspires your creative spirit, MoMA offers free online courses.

NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center & Glenn Research Center

Maybe we should count these next tours as off planet! Take a virtual tour of the NASA Glenn Research Center or the Space Telescope Operations Control Center, which houses the Hubble Telescope. At NASA Glenn, explore the ballistics impact lab or the supersonic wind tunnel, which could, of course, lead to a discussion about physics that inspires future careers or summer space camp. Don’t worry if it’s been a while since you took a science class, NASA has a lot of information online, making it a great resource during this time at home.

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMS

Guggenheim, Bilbao

Frank Gehry’s sculptured titanium and steel building, on the banks of the Nervión River, is one of the world’s most distinctive art spaces. This interactive tour takes viewers around its collection of postwar American and European painting and sculpture – Rothko, Holzer, Koons, Kapoor – and even down between the weathered curves of Serra’s Matter of Time (turn left at the entrance).

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Anyone who is a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close) through a Google virtual tour or the museum’s YouTube channel – the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

As one of Germany’s most visited museums, Pergamon has a lot to offer even if you can’t physically be there. It is home to ancient artifacts excavated in the late 1800s, including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Pergamon Altar. This is the perfect museum to explore in virtual reality.

Vatican Museums, Rome

With soaring vaulted ceilings, intricate murals, and tapestries, the Vatican’s museums are creatively rich sites. Be sure to look up when exploring the seven spaces in the museum’s 360-degree virtual tour, or you might miss the Sistine Chapel. Wander around the rest of Vatican City with a You Visit tour that takes in Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square, complete with a tour guide narrating each interactive space.

British Museum, London

There are 3,212 panes of glass in the domed ceiling of the British Museum’s Great Court, and no two are the same – and the 360-degree view in this virtual tour lets viewers examine each and every one. Beyond this magnificent space, viewers can find the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies and other ancient wonders. The museum’s interactive infographic platform, History Connected, goes into further depth of various objects with curators, along a timeline.

Natural History Museum, London

The Natural History Museum’s vast collection of flora and fauna both great and small has long been a favourite of Londoners and tourists alike. Get lost in the corridors and gallery spaces online. One treat is Dippy the dino, who despite recently going on tour still makes an appearance in the entrance hall in this interactive online guide.

Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Great Missenden

Start your day off with a virtual tour of the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, which is located outside London, then spend the afternoon reading The Witches or The BFG to your kids. While it can be easy to feel like you’re missing out by only seeing something online, this museum is a great opportunity to delve into the fantastical world of an author who can really help with escapism right now.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea

Established in 1969 in Gyeongbokgung Palace, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has become one of Korea’s popular museums with four locations. Google’s virtual tour takes you through six floors of Contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

Museu de Arte De Sao Paulo, Brazil

This private museum was founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand. Early on it was one of the most important European collections in the southern hemisphere. Today it has expanded to more than 8,000 works from around the world and a wide range of time periods. Take your own private virtual tour.

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