If cabin fever and a tedious routine seem to be the worst of our problems, I’ll take it. Staying inside is bound to bring some boredom, but hopefully, remembering the importance of the practice will keep the monotony at bay. In the meantime, to spice up your daily desk and couch views, many landmarks and museums have click-through and video tours of their attractions. Kate Luongo featured similar virtual travel excursions with “Husky on the Road” last week, and here are some tours to check out to satiate your travel bug while avoiding crowded lines and saving some money.
The Louvre is only one major museum that is offering virtual tours of its most prominent exhibits. Photo by Uriel Soberanes on Unsplash. Thumbnail photo courtesy of Reno Laithienne on Unsplash.
The Louvre
One of the largest and most famous art museums in the world, this Parisian historical monument offers virtual tours of its most prominent exhibits that you can peruse at your own leisure; no longer will you have to worry about seeing everything in one trip! Get cultured by touring “The Advent of the Artist” or “Egyptian Antiquities,” or delve into the museum’s available database of their curated artworks, like “Masterpieces”.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met houses some of the most illustrious artworks in the world from artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock. Their online features aren’t as extensive as full virtual tours. However, it has some cool online features on their website, and you can access much more with the Google site I mention later.
The Smithsonian is another incredible museum with a plethora of virtual tours to explore while at home. Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Out of all the museums located in our country’s capital, one of my favorites remains the Museum of Natural History. They have self-guided virtual tours of permanent, current and past exhibits. The tours are also available in simulated WebVR mode. Some exhibits I recommend checking out are “Sant Ocean Hall,” “African Voices,” “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World” (unless this one hits too close to home), “Sea Monsters” and “Nature’s Best Photography Exhibits.”
Virtual Dives
Through the National Marine Sanctuaries, you don’t even need to know how to swim to experience the wonders of the ocean. With 360 degree galleries, you can go on a virtual dive with sea lions in Monterey Bay and the American Samoa. Another cool place to check out are the “Virtual Visits” that the New England Aquarium offers.
Google Arts & Culture
If a particular museum or site you’re looking for does not have a specific online tour available on their website, chances are Google may. Google Arts & Culture has a vast collection of different sites and landmarks from around the globe that you can immerse yourself in with 360 degree videos, click through tours and even close-ups of specific exhibits and pieces of work. The site is fairly easy to navigate with almost too much to explore, including sections for different artists, mediums, art movements and more. Beyond museums, the site allows you to explore iconic cultural monuments, such as the Taj Mahal and the Colosseum, as well as contemporary tourist attractions, such as the Sydney Opera House and Hollywood Boulevard.
The site groups together helpful collections of places to explore, such as “10 Top Museums You Can Explore Right Here, Right Now”, “11 Incredible Views from the Top” and “10 Incredible Libraries from Around the World”.
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Hollie Lao is a staff writer and the social media manager for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at hollianne.lao@uconn.edu.
