Locked away from the world? Missing the art, museums, and culture? Why not get it all from your bed, kitchen, or couch?
With most of us stuck at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, we have a lot more time on our hands. This is the perfect opportunity to finish that book you started, to start learning a new language or even to visit museums around the world!
Or at least virtually. Peter Whittaker, who works to create visitor experience for museums, art galleries and visitor centres explains that the internet makes this pandemic a lot more tolerable for all of us and that it is therefore natural for institutions to invest in their websites.
“Competing with Netflix and Disney +, museums need to invest more in their online experiences to draw people in and stay relevant”
Peter Whittaker.
Let’s take a look at five museums that are using their websites to the fullest and creating a state of the art online experiences.
1. The British Museum, London
The British Museum, founded in 1753, is one of the oldest museums in the world, yet it also has one of the best online experiences ever. The museum brings together unusual and rare objects from all around the world from prehistory to the present day.
Now, thanks to their online version, the Museum of The World, get ready to travel through time, continents and cultures. This spectacular website will give you the chance to explore objects from the British Museum collection while listening to curators, who will share their insight with you.
This museum is completely interactive, unique and fascinating.
2. The Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
Always dreamt of getting up close to Van Gogh’s Starry Night? You can now do that thanks to MoMA’s Google Arts & Culture page which allows you to learn about Keith Haring’s work or just walk around the museum.
Still, the best part of their online version might actually be their Destination Modern Art website designed specifically for kids to explore the museum and enjoy different activities such as creating poems inspired by an art piece.
MoMA opened its doors back in 1929 in Manhattan, New York City and was the first museum dedicated to the modern era.
Collection highlights consist of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, along with more recent works by Andy Warhol, Ashley Bickerton, and much more.
3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
If you have children or your inner child is still going strong, take a look at the Time Machine, a special website concocted just for kids!
Get ready to go back in time and discover wonderful pieces. Once you click on an artwork you will get a fun fact along with some interesting activities to get your imagination working.
The MET allows you to either watch a 360° video of each of their buildings or walk through the museum using Google street view. You can even get up close with some of the artwork through their online exhibits such as Coco Chanel: Modernism or Study of a Young Woman.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, famously known for its yearly gala, is home to more than 5000 years of art. This museum lives in three different sites: The MET Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters and maybe even into a fourth site that is online.
4. Natural History Museum of Ireland, Dublin.
This Irish Natural History Museum also known as “The Dead Zoo” gives you access to parts of their building that are not even available to the public in real life anymore!
Since 2007, the first and second balcony have been closed to the public but guess what? Each and every floor of the museum can be visited online through a 3D virtual tour of the building!
There you will find a collection of over 2 million items ranging from zoology to geology. The ground floor of the museum is named the Irish room as it is filled with Irish specimens such as the giant Irish deer.
The first floor contains mammals from around the world with many extinct or endangered species on display. Once you go up onto the first balcony, you will find many different fishes, birds and reptiles.
Lastly, the second balcony is host to a variety of insects, shells, crustaceans, corals, and glass models made by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka (who also made Harvard’s glass flower collection).
5. The Louvre, Paris.
Want to feel like Beyonce for a day? Stroll around one of the world’s largest museums by yourself?
Here you can scroll through the different art pieces featured in Jay-Z and Queen Bey’s “Apesh*t” music video without having to leave your couch!
You can now visit the museum through two different manners online. First, you can use the youvisit.com option which allows you to view the buildings in a 360° type of way. Second, you can take part in online visits of the museums which allows you to see different exhibits alongside written explanations.
The Louvre, which is located in Paris is the world’s most visited museum with around 9.3 million people coming in each year. Its collection is exceptional with Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, which represents Aphrodite.
In real life, it is almost impossible to get up close to those famous artworks as the museum is extremely crowded, but online the 70,000 pieces of art are all yours. So even if you are stuck inside, you can now get your daily dose of art!
