The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections

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

• Google Arts & Culture: +2,000 museum partners from +80 countries
• Heritage on the Edge: A project of Google Arts & Culture
• Europeana: 50,000,000 European works of art, books, music, and more
• Smithsonian Open Access: Search 2.8 million images and 3D Models
• ArtUK: Art collections from 3,200 UK organizations
• Mexican Ministry of Culture: Short films, books, radio, paintings, from all cultural orgs
• Memorica: Open access Mexican culture content portal
• China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration: Virtual portal of 100 institutions
• OpenGLAM: Aggregates 88 unique open collections
• Museum Crush: Select objects from a variety of museums
• NASA Image & Video Library: All NASA content is in the public domain
• DPLA: Digital Public Library of America
• MIMO: Musical Instrument Museums Online (64,000+ instruments)
• BioExplora: Natural science open collections portal (3D images, bio diversity)
• Science Museum Group: Collections from five UK science museums (325,000+ objects)
• York Museums Trust: Collections from various museums in Yorkshire, UK
• Archaeological Analytics: Archaeological Open Access Collections
• Digital Agnes: Canadian portal for curatorial research and online exhibitions
• English Heritage: Variety of mediums of British content (Podcasts, videos, etc.)
• Creative Commons: Aggregates all CC-licensed content and collections globally
• Wikimedia Commons: Over 20,000,000 open images
• Wikidata: “The Sum of all Paintings” metadata initiative via Wikimedia
• GLAM Portals Google Search: Courtesy of Mia Ridge (context on her blog)
• Open Culture Coloring Pages: 113 museum coloring books
• Global Museum: Portal for museum news, jobs, and resources
• V21ArtSpace: Over 100 exhibit virtual tours
• Arte.tv: Cultural documentaries, films, and more.
• SHOW ME: Games, collections, videos, stories, homework help and family days out from museums and galleries

VIRTUAL TOURS / ONLINE EXHIBITS

Art and Culture Museums

• Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford: Virtual Tour
• The Louvre, Paris: Virtual Tour
• Vatican Museums: Virtual Tours
• Dalí Theatre-Museum, Catalonia: Virtual Tour
• Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm: VR Tour
• Byzantine and Christian Virtual Museum: Virtual Tour
• Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: Virtual Tour
• Finnish Art Gallery: Virtual Tour
• Cranbrook Art Museum, Michigan: Exhibit Virtual Tours
• São Paolo Museum of Art: Virtual Tour
• Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum: Virtual Tour
• The Hermitage, Russia: Virtual Tour (YouTube)
• Arizona State Museum: Virtual Tour
• The Kremer Museum: VR Tour (Requires download)
• The Frick, Pittsburgh: Virtual tours, online collections, activities

History Museums

• Canadian Museum of History: Virtual Tour
• Diefenbunker, Canada: Virtual Tours, Coloring Pages
• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum: Virtual Tour
• The Palace Museum: The Forbidden City, China, 360-degree Virtual Tour
• American Battlefield Trust: 360-degree Battlefield Tours
• National Archaeological Museum, Spain: Virtual Museum
• Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello: Virtual Tour
• George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Virtual Tours, timelines, etc.
• Westminster Abbey, London: Virtual Tour
• National Museum of the Great Lakes: Virtual Tour
• Florence as it Was: 3D models of Florentine buildings, artworks, and squares
• Mexican National Institute of Anthropology & History: Virtual Tours (Flash)
• Cliffe Castle Museum: Virtual Tour
• Museum of Flight: Virtual Tour
• National Museum of the U.S. Air Force: Virtual Tour
• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: 360-degree Equipment Tour

Natural Science Museums

• National Museum of Natural History, US: Virtual Tour
• NASA Langley Research Center: Virtual Tour
• The National Museum of Computing, UK: Virtual Tour
• The Science Museum, London: Shipping Galleries Virtual Tour
• Luxembourg National Museum of National History: Virtual Tour

National Parks

• Valley Forge National Park, US: Virtual Tour
• Yellowstone National Park, US: Virtual Tours
• Yosemite National Park, US: Virtual Tour

Online Exhibits

• Canadian Museum of History: Online Exhibitions
• Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Online Exhibits, Stories
• Girl Museum: Online Exhibits
• History Colorado: Online Exhibits
• JFK Library: “Moonshot” App and Online Interactive
• Koshland Science Museum: Interactive Virtual Exhibits
• M Woods, Beijing, China: Experimental Online Exhibition
• Mercer Museum, Pennsylvania: Online Exhibits
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: Animal Live Cams
• 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
• Reina Sofía Museum Radio: Audiovisual resources; an acoustic museum experience
• Remembering Lincoln, Ford’s Theatre: Interactive online exhibit
• Second Canvas Apps: 30 Museum Apps (Google Sheet)
• Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum
• State Museum of Pennsylvania: Online Exhibits
• Virtual Migration Museum: Interactive Online Experience / App
• Virtual Museum of Canada: Virtual Exhibits and Cultural Content

E-LEARNING

• Age of Revolution: Interactive Timeline
• Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum: Activities, Coloring Pages
• Better World Museum: Draw Together in VR, Bob Ross-style videos
• Bronx Zoo: Field Sight
• Contemporary Jewish Museum: Learn about Jewish history, art, and culture
• Denver Art Museum: Artist videos
• Discover XR: The Future of Social Media & Online Learning (YouTube)
• The Field Museum: The Brain Scoop (YouTube)
• Les Fruits de Mer: Activities, books, films about Caribbean wildlife
• The Hammer: Contemporary Art programs, (YouTube)
• KaiXR: Free Museum VR Field Trips (no VR gear needed)
• MoMA Learning
• HistoryView.org: Virtual Reality Tours
• Mount Vernon: Online Learning Resources
• Museum of the American Revolution: Virtual Field Trip
• Museum of Early Trade and Crafts: Recipes, Games, Coloring Pages, etc.
• Museum Strathroy-Cardoc: Sydenham River Discovery online exhibit (Flash)
• North Carolina Museum of Art: Learn, (collections, videos, curriculum)
• Paleontological Research Institution
• The Ringling: Lesson Plans and Read-Alongs
• Royal Albert Memorial Museum: Exeter Time Trail (Interactive timeline)
• Sketchfab: 3D Models (link goes to cultural-specific search)
• Speed Art Museum: At-home art-making videos
• Smithsonian Learning Lab
• Thomas Cole National Historic Site: Videos
• Virginia Museum of History & Culture: Lecture series videos

Created for Kids

• American Museum of Natural History: Ology science website for kids
• The Andy Warhol Museum: Online Lessons
• 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
• Exploratorium: Science Experiment “Snacks”
• Frist Kids: Art activities and videos
• Glazer Children’s Museum: Online Activities
• iCivics: Virtual games (free beginning with Covid-19)
• International Association of Children in Museums: Coronavirus Guide
• The Kennedy Center: ArtsEdge, art education resources
• Long Island Children’s Museum: Play Outside Ideas
• MCA Chicago: “Art Like Me” Culturally-Relevant Art Workbook for Kids
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: MetKids
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: Games, Activities, Coloring Pages
• National Museum of Australia: “Fun at Home” DIY activities
• 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
• Speed Art Museum: Art Projects for Kids
• Suzhou Museum: Online Mini-Games
• Tate: Tate Kids (Games and quizzes, videos, kids’ art, etc.)

ONLINE COLLECTIONS

Art and Cultural Collections

• Rijksstudio: Remix collections from Rijksmuseum
• SMK Open: National Gallery of Denmark Collections
• Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway (art by Edvard Munch)
• Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham, UK (art and history)
• Paris Museums: Over 300,000 works
• Paris Museum of Modern Art
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• Kröller-Müller Museum, The Netherlands
• The Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
• Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
• Open Access at the Met
• Corning Museum of Glass, New York
• The Guggenheim, New York
• Cooper Hewitt, New York (historical and contemporary design)
• Albright-Knox, New York
• New Museum Digital Archive
• The Barnes Collection, Philadelphia
• The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania
• The Walters, Baltimore
• Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
• Akron Art Museum, Ohio
• Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University
• Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
• Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
• Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (visual, performing, media arts)
• The Hammer, LA (contemporary art)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
• Crocker Art Museum, California
• Oakland Museum of California
• Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
• The Khalili Collections: 35,000 works of art
• M+ Collections: 5,000+ Cultural Objects
• The Leiden Collection
• The Rainbow Museum: Art and Photography
• Delaware Art Museum
• Glasgow Women’s Library
• Latino Cultural Arts Center, Denver
• Clyfford Still Museum, Denver
• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, New Mexico
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts, Arizona
• Portland Art Museum
• McMaster Museum of Art, Canada
• Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
• Sarmaya, Mumbai
• Museum of New Zealand
• The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA)
• Xul Solar Museum, Argentina
• National Museum of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts
• Victoria and Albert, UK

Science Collections

• The Horniman
• Naturalis: 40,000,000 natural science collections objects
• Natural History Museum, UK
• History of Science Museum, Oxford University
• Idaho Museum of Natural History
• MIT Museum
• Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
• Museum of Natural Sciences, Barcelona
• National Maritime Museum, UK

History Collections

• Canadian Museum of History
• UK Postal Museum
• Brooklands Museum, Surrey, UK (cars, motorcycles, aircraft)
• South West Collections, England
• Royal Armouries Collections
• National Museum of African American History & Culture
• Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
• New York Archaeological Repository: Nearly 1,000,000 objects
• Chicago History Museum, Illinois
• Digital Cleveland History
• The Henry Ford, Michigan
• Imperial War Museum, UK
• London Transport Museum, UK
• Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Virginia
• The Museum of Flight, Seattle
• National Museum of Korea
• National Army Museum, UK

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
• 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
• Trinity College Library Dublin
• Trove: National Library of Australia images, books, newspapers, maps, etc.
• National Archives of Japan
• The National Archives, UK
• New York Public Library: 880,000+ digitized prints, manuscripts, videos, etc.
• US National Archives Catalog
• Villanova Digital Library
• Wellcome Library

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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.”

Quelle:

The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections