The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources | MCN

The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources | MCN
The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections
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March 14, 2020
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Eric Longo
In the blink of an eye, once-crowded museums sit empty. We’re preparing ourselves for social distancing and potential quarantine. This is the time for museum technology to step up and fill the void. The potential of online collections, virtual tours, and social media campaigns have always been there, but now the opportunity for impact is incalculable.
Access to endless open content. Educational resources for e-learning. Virtual retreats to art, culture, and history around the globe. This is the museum technology community’s time to shine!
If you’re a museum tech enthusiast looking to be part of the conversation, join one of MCN’s
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
. They are
currently free for non-members
so more can share resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This list will be continually updated with examples of museum and museum-adjacent virtual awesomeness. It is by no means exhaustive. If you have a virtual museum or museum-adjacent resource to contribute on behalf of your organization, please fill out this
Google Form
Every resource is free to access and enjoy.
Much of it, though not all, is also open content, in the sense that it’s freely reusable and re-mixable under Creative Commons licensing.
Open content is clearly labeled on its respective website.
PORTALS
Alaska’s Digital Archives
: Alaska’s historical resources
Arab Image Foundation
Archaeological Analytics
: Archaeological Open Access Collections
ArtUK
: Art collections from 3,200 UK organizations
Arte.tv
: Cultural documentaries, films, and more.
Association of Science and Technology Centers
: Educational resources
BioExplora
: Natural science open collections portal (3D images, bio diversity)
Canadian Museum of History
: Virtual Exhibits, online exhibits, online collections
Creative Commons
: Aggregates all CC-licensed content and collections globally
Digital Agnes
: Canadian portal for curatorial research and online exhibitions
DigitalNZ
: 300+ collections from around New Zealand
DPLA
: Digital Public Library of America
Europeana
: 50,000,000 European works of art, books, music, and more
English Heritage
: Variety of mediums of British content (Podcasts, videos, etc.)
Getty Research Portal
: Free access to digitized art history texts
GLAM Portals Google Search
: Courtesy of Mia Ridge (
context on her blog
Global Museum
: Portal for museum news, jobs, and resources
Google Arts & Culture
: +2,000 museum partners from +80 countries
Heritage on the Edge
: A project of Google Arts & Culture
Lithuanian Integral Museum Information System
: Lithuanian heritage collections portal
Maine Memory Network
: Historical items from organizations across Maine.
Memorica
: Open access Mexican culture content portal
Mexican Ministry of Culture
: Short films, books, radio, paintings, from cultural orgs
MIMO
: Musical Instrument Museums Online (64,000+ instruments)
Museum Crush
: Select objects from a variety of museums
NASA Image & Video Library
: All NASA content is in the public domain
NISE (National Informal Science Education)
: Digital library of STEM DIY resources
Open Culture Coloring Pages
: 113 museum coloring books
OpenGLAM
: Aggregates 88 unique open collections
Paris Museums
: Over 300,000 works
Past Perfect Online
: Digital collections from over 900 museums
Project Gutenberg
: 60,000 free ebooks
The Run Around
: Virtual Activities from Children’s Museums
Science Museum Group
: 325,000+ objects from 5 UK science museums
SHOW ME
: Games, collections, videos, stories from museums and galleries
Smithsonian Open Access
: Search 2.8 million images and 3D Models
V21ArtSpace
: Over 100 exhibit virtual tours
Wikidata
: “The Sum of all Paintings” metadata initiative via Wikimedia
Wikimedia Commons
: Over 20,000,000 open images
Upgraded Points:
75 Best Virtual Museum Tours
Urban Archive
: Digital archive collections from 70+ museums
York Museums Trust
: Collections from various museums in Yorkshire, UK
Image: V21 Artspace
VIRTUAL TOURS / ONLINE EXHIBITS
Art and Culture Museums
Arizona State Museum
: Virtual Tour
Bavarian Cultural Center of Germans from Russia
: Virtual Tours
Best Museums in Singapore (COVID Edition)
, complete with virtual tours
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
: Virtual Tours
Byzantine and Christian Virtual Museum
: Virtual Tour
Cranbrook Art Museum
, Michigan: Exhibit Virtual Tours
Dalí Theatre-Museum
, Catalonia: Virtual Tour
Finnish Art Gallery
: Virtual Tour
The Frick, Pittsburgh
: Virtual tours, online collections, activities
Georgia Museum of Art
: Online Exhibit
Hallwyl Museum
, Stockholm: VR Tour
Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
: Explore Egypt, Mesopotamia and more in the virtual tour
The Hermitage
, Russia: Virtual Tour (YouTube)
The Kremer Museum
: VR Tour (Requires download)
The Louvre
, Paris: Virtual Tour
Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum
: Virtual Tour
Maude Abbott Medical Museum
: virtual exhibits
Museum of Nepali Art:
Virtual Tour
Morton Arboretum:
Virtual Tour
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts:
Winston-Salem Virtual Exhibits
Museum of
International
Folk Art
: virtual tours
Pitt Rivers Museum
, University of Oxford: Virtual Tour
The Royal Museum of Mariemont
: “Bye Bye Future! The Art of Time Travelling” Virtual Exhibit Tour
São Paolo Museum of Art
: Virtual Tour
UCR ARTS
: Virtual Tours, Kids Activities, Artist Interviews
University of Aberdeen
: Virtual Exhibits from cultural collections
Vatican Museums
: Virtual Tours
Vermont Art Online
: 360-degree Virtual Tours
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
: Virtual Tour
The World Coffee Museum
: Virtual Tour
History Museums
Canadian Museum of History
: Virtual Tour
Cliffe Castle Museum
: Virtual Tour
Diefenbunker
, Canada: Virtual Tours, Coloring Pages
Dundas Museum & Archives
: 360-degree Virtual Tour
Florence as it Was
: 3D models of Florentine buildings, artworks, and squares
George C. Marshall Museum and Library
: K-12+ list of digital resources
George Washington’s Mount Vernon
: Virtual Tours, timelines, etc.
Historic Ships in Baltimore
: USS Constellation Virtual Tour
Louisiana’s Old State Capitol
: Virtual Tour
Levine Museum of the New South:
Virtual Tour of Cotton Fields to Skyscraper exhibition
Lynn Museum
: An online exhibition exploring the whaling industry
Mexican National Institute of Anthropology & History
: Virtual Tours (Flash)
Museum of the American Revolution
: Virtual Tour
Museum of Durham History:
Virtual Tour of MLK exhibit
Museum of Flight
: Virtual Tour
The Museum of National History Frederiksborg Denmark
: Virtual Tour (narrated)
National Archaeological Museum
, Spain: Virtual Museum
National Museum of the Great Lakes
: Virtual Tour
National Museum of Singapore
: Virtual Tour
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
: Virtual Tour
Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate
: California, US Virtual Tour
The Palace Museum
: The Forbidden City, China, 360-degree Virtual Tour
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
: Virtual Tour
Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Museum
: Virtual Tour
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
: 360-degree Equipment Tour
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
: Virtual Tour
Westminster Abbey
, London: Virtual Tour
Natural Science Museums
The Ecotarium Museum of Science
: 360-degree Virtual Tour
Luxembourg National Museum of National History
: Virtual Tour
NASA Langley Research Center
: Virtual Tour
National Museum of Computing
, UK: Virtual Tour
National Museum of Natural History
, US: Virtual Tour
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
: Virtual Tour with audio commentary
Science Museum
, London: Shipping Galleries Virtual Tour
Virtual Science Museum
, Sunnyvale, CA: Virtual exhibits about virtual reality
National Parks
American Battlefield Trust
: 360-degree Battlefield Tours
Valley Forge National Park
, US: Virtual Tour
Yellowstone National Park
, US: Virtual Tours
Yosemite National Park
, US: Virtual Tour
Online Exhibits
American Writers Museum
: Online Exhibit
Art, Design & Architecture Museum
: Online Exhibits
Benjamin Franklin House
: Online Exhibit
Canadian Museum of History
: Online Exhibitions
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
: Online Exhibits, Stories
Digital Smithsonian American Art Museum
: Online Exhibits, Videos
Fashion Institute of Technology
: Online Exhibits
Getty Research Institute
: Online Exhibit, “Bauhaus: Building the New Artist”
Girl Museum
: Online Exhibits
Gregg Museum of Art & Design
: Virtual Exhibits
Historic Newton
: Online Exhibits
History Colorado
: Online Exhibits
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
: Online Exhibit
International Print Center New York
: “(Re)Print: Five Projects” Online Exhibit
JFK Library
: “Moonshot” App and Online Interactive
King’s College London
: Online Exhibits and Special Collections
Koshland Science Museum
: Interactive Virtual Exhibits
Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage & Education Centre
: “From Coffee to Seaweed” Virtual Exhibit
M Woods
, Beijing, China: Experimental Online Exhibition
Mercer Museum, Pennsylvania
: Online Exhibits
Monterey Bay Aquarium:
Animal Live Cams
Museum of the American Indian
: “How American Indians Shaped US Identity”
Museum of London
: Online Exhibits
Museum of Ontario Archaeology
: “History of Ste. Marie II” Online Exhibit
National Museum of the U.S. Navy
National Women’s History Museum
Norman Rockwell Museum
: Virtual Exhibits
Palmer Museum of Art
: Online Exhibits, Tours, Etc.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
: Online Exhibits
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
: Northwest Territories Virtual Exhibits
Reina Sofía Museum Radio
: Audiovisual resources; an acoustic museum experience
Second Canvas Apps
: 30 Museum Apps (Google Sheet)
Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum
Städel Museum
: Online Exhibit
State Museum of Pennsylvania
: Online Exhibits
Virtual Migration Museum
: Interactive Online Experience / App
Virtual Museum of Canada
: Virtual Exhibits and Cultural Content
Western North Carolina Historical Association
: Hillbillyland–Myth & Reality of Appalachian Culture
E-LEARNING
Age of Revolution
: Interactive Timeline
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
: Activities, Coloring Pages
Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian)
: Air and Space Anywhere
Better World Museum
: Draw Together in VR, Bob Ross-style videos
Birmingham Museum of Art
: Videos, interactive images, and art activities
Bronx Zoo
: Field Sight
Cantor Arts Center
, Stanford University: videos, activities, online exhibits
Contemporary Jewish Museum
: Learn about Jewish history, art, and culture
Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University
: Family Fictions Virtual Exhibition
Denver Art Museum
: Artist videos
Discover XR
: The Future of Social Media & Online Learning (YouTube)
El Paso Museum of History
: Interactive online exhibits, activity pages, family resources
The Field Museum
: The Brain Scoop (YouTube)
Fleet Science Center
: FLEETtv Science resources
Ford’s Theater
: Online Exhibits and Learning Resources
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
: Museum At Home
Les Fruits de Mer
: Activities, books, films about Caribbean wildlife
George Eastman Museum
: Eastman Museum at Home (activities, videos, resources)
Glucksman Gallery:
Creativity at Home kids activities
The Hammer
: Contemporary Art programs, (YouTube)
Harvard Semitic Museum
: 3D models of Egyptian archaeology and art
HistoryView.org
: Virtual Reality Tours
The Hunter
: Collection of in-gallery experiences and at-home art activities
Indiana Geological and Water Survey
: Comparing Ice Age Mammals activity
Iroquois Indian Museum
: Online games and learning resources
KaiXR
: Free Museum VR Field Trips (no VR gear needed)
KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum
: Virtual explorations, activities & educational resources
Los Alamos History Museum
: History at Home
Massillon Museum
: Digital learning resources including tours & online content
McMullen Museum of Art
: A listing of various virtual learning resources.
MoMA Learning
Mount Vernon
: Online Learning Resources
Museum of the American Revolution
: Virtual Field Trip
Museum of Early Trade and Crafts
: Recipes, Games, Coloring Pages, etc.
The Museum at Fit
: Online Exhibits, Online Collections, YouTube, Podcast, etc.
Museum of Modern Art
: MOOC for online learning
Museum of International Folk Art
: e-learning resources for educators
Museum Strathroy-Cardoc
: Sydenham River Discovery online exhibit (Flash)
Museum of Ventura County
: Virtual learning modules for families
Nantucket Historical Society
: Transcribe the Collection
New-York Historical Society
: Online social studies programs for all grades
North Carolina Museum of Art
: Learn (collections, videos, curriculum)
North Carolina Museum of History
: Online collections, podcasts, learning packets
Paleontological Research Institution
Peoria Riverfront Museum
: Virtual collections, exhibitions, and DIY videos
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
: Amaze Your Brain at Home
Philadelphia Museum of Art
: The John G. Johnson Collection
The Ringling
: Lesson Plans and Read-Alongs
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
: Exeter Time Trail (Interactive timeline)
Seattle Art Museum
: Videos, Collection Highlights
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
: Interactive Timeline
Sketchfab
: 3D Models (link goes to cultural-specific search)
Smithsonian Learning Lab
Speed Art Museum
: At-home art-making videos
Thomas Cole National Historic Site
: Videos
USS Constitution Museum
: Engaging all ages with “Old Ironsides” online
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
: Lecture series videos
Created for Kids
Adler Planetarium
: Science Experiments for Kids (YouTube playlist)
Alimentarium Academy
: Virtual resources on food, nutrition, and digestion
American Museum of Natural History
: Ology science website for kids
The Andy Warhol Museum
: Online Lessons
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
: Discover the desert online
The Bakken Museum
: STEM videos and activities
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum
: B&O Junior Junction
Canadian Museum of Nature
: Coloring Pages, Arctic, Garden, Dinosaurs
Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
: Projects and Activities
Children’s Museum of South Dakota
: Recipes for Play
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
: Museum at Home
Crawford Art Gallery
: Art activities and coloring pages
Exploratorium
: Science Experiment “Snacks”
Frist Kids
: Art activities and videos
Glazer Children’s Museum
: Online Activities
History Hunters
: Youth Reporter Program
House of Illustration
: Curriculum-based illustration activities
iCivics
: Virtual games (free beginning with Covid-19)
International Association of Children in Museums
: Coronavirus Guide
Jackie Robinson Museum
: Clips, games, and resources
Job Carr Cabin Museum
: Activities and Downloadable Resources
The Kennedy Center
: ArtsEdge, art education resources
Laguna Art Museum
: Art Activities for all ages
Long Island Children’s Museum
: Play Outside Ideas
Maidstone Museum
: Learning with Spike at Home – crafts and activities
MCA Chicago
: “Art Like Me” Culturally-Relevant Art Workbook for Kids
Metropolitan Museum of Art
: MetKids
Monterey Bay Aquarium
: Games, Activities, Coloring Pages
Museum of International Folk Art
: Folk Art for You
National Museum of Australia
: “Fun at Home” DIY activities
National Women’s History Museum
: Take a daily “women’s history break”
New Jersey State House
Virtual Tours for Kids
Norton Simon Museum
: Art Projects for Kids (scroll to section)
Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
: The MAKESHOP Show (Makerspace Blog)
Rhino Palast
: Games and Information (German only)
Roald Dahl Museum
: Make Stories Like Roald Dahl
Shedd Aquarium
: Sea Curious- Kid Questions, Animal Answers (YouTube)
Smarthistory
: Source of history content for Khan Academy
State Historical Society of Iowa
: Educational Activities and Weekly Programs
Suzhou Museum
: Online Mini-Games
Tate
Tate Kids (Games and quizzes, videos, kids’ art, etc.)
Two Temple Place
: Art activities inspired by exhibitions
ONLINE COLLECTIONS
Art and Cultural Collections
Akron Art Museum
, Ohio
Albright-Knox
, New York
Art Institute of Chicago
, Illinois
Art Museum at the University of Toronto
Artura
: Contemporary diverse art and artists
Asheville Art Museum
, North Carolina
The Barnes Collection
, Philadelphia
The Belvedere
, Vienna, Austria
Birmingham Museums Trust
, Birmingham, UK (art and history)
Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art
Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts
Cleveland Museum of Art
, Ohio
Clyfford Still Museum
, Denver
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
Cooper Hewitt
, New York (historical and contemporary design)
Corning Museum of Glass
, New York: Lectures, demos, glass blowing magic.
Crocker Art Museum
, California
Davison Art Center
, Wesleyan University
Delaware Art Museum
Denver Art Museum
Eskenazi Museum of Art
, Indiana University
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
, New Mexico
Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
: digital resources including online exhibits, virtual tours, and more from four Harvard museums
The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections
The Guggenheim
, New York
The Hammer
, LA (contemporary art)
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Iroquois Indian Museum
The Khalili Collections
: 35,000 works of art
Kröller-Müller Museum
, The Netherlands
Kunstmuseum Basel
, Switzerland
The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA)
Latino Cultural Arts Center
, Denver
The Leiden Collection
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
M+ Collections
: 5,000+ Cultural Objects
McMaster Museum of Art
, Canada
McMichael Candian Art Collection
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Mori Art Museum
, Tokyo
Munch Museum
, Oslo, Norway (art by Edvard Munch)
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
Museum of International Folk Art
: folk art collection from more than 100 countries
Museum of New Zealand
National Museum of Fine Arts
, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Natural History Museum, London
New Museum Digital Archive
Oakland Museum of California
Open Access at the Met
Old Salem Museums and Gardens
, Winston-Salem North Carolina
Paris Museum of Modern Art
Philbrook Museum of Art
, Oklahoma
Portland Art Museum
The Rainbow Museum
: Art and Photography
Rijksmuseum
: Art and Videos
Sarmaya
, Mumbai
SCAD Museum of Art
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts
, Arizona
Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
SMK Open
: National Gallery of Denmark Collections
Spencer Museum of Art
, Kansas, US
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
, Madrid, Spain
Xul Solar Museum
, Argentina
Van Gogh Museum
, Amsterdam
Victoria and Albert
, UK
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art
, Pennsylvania
Walker Art Center
, Minneapolis (visual, performing, media arts)
The Walters
, Baltimore
Science Collections
Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
, Harvard University
Discovery Park of America
Grand Rapids Public Museum
, US
History of Science Museum
, Oxford University
Idaho Museum of Natural History
The Horniman
, UK
MIT Museum
, US
Museum of Natural Sciences
, Barcelona
National Maritime Museum
, UK
Naturalis
, Netherlands: 40,000,000 natural science collections objects
Natural History Museum
, UK
Royal Ontario Museum
, Canada
History Collections
Brooklands Museum
, Surrey, UK (cars, motorcycles, aircraft)
Canadian Museum of History
Chicago History Museum
, Illinois
Churchill Archives Center
Digital Cleveland History
Fraunces Tavern Museum
The Hagley,
Wilmington, DE
The Henry Ford
, Michigan
Historic Beverly
, Massachusetts
Imperial War Museum
, UK
London Transport Museum
, UK
Marco Island Historical Society
The Museum of Flight
, Seattle
Museum of History and Industry
, Seattle
National Army Museum
, UK
National Museum of African American History & Culture
National Museum of Korea
New York Archaeological Repository
: Nearly 1,000,000 objects
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
Royal Armouries Collections
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum
and Library Collections
South West Collections
, England
UK Postal Museum
University of Dundee
, Scotland
Vesterheim Virtual Galleries
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum,
Virginia
DIGITAL ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES
Amsterdam City Archive
American Literature Portal
, WikiSource
Arctos Database
: Access to 3 million specimens and observations in 210 collections
Bath Archives
, UK
Biodiversity Heritage Library
British Library of Illuminated Manuscripts
Cambridge Digital Library
Connecticut Digital Archive
Digital Library of Scotland
Endangered Archives
, British Library
English Literature Portal,
WikiSource
Glasgow Women’s Library
Internet Archive
: The Wayback Machine, digitized film, books, music, etc.
JSTOR
: Open content search
Library of Congress
Louisiana Digital Library
: 400,000+ digital items from archives, libraries, museums
Manar al-Athar
: Image resource for Middle Eastern archaeological sites
National Archives of Japan
The National Archives
, UK
New York Public Library
: 880,000+ digitized prints, manuscripts, videos, etc.
The Bartlett Library at the Museum of International Folk Art
Trinity College Library Dublin
Trove
: National Library of Australia images, books, newspapers, maps, etc.
US National Archives Catalog
Villanova Digital Library
Wellcome Library
Huge thanks to the many who have written helpful blogs with their favorite museum tech resources. Your contributions are all included here:
Cuseum
Mia Ridge
Jenni Fuchs
, and
Alicja Peszkowska
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours Around the World
[Art, History, Science, and Technology]
Articles on COVID’s Impact on Museums
Colleen Dilenschneider
: “How COVID-19 is Impacting Intentions to Visit Cultural Entities (DATA).”
Colleen Dilenschneider
: “Why Marketing Matters During COVID-19 Closures.”
MuseumNext
: “Reorganize, Reuse, Rethink, Relaunch.”
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