As we adjust to the new normal of practicing social distancing, rather than mourning the loss of the things we can no longer do, why not take this opportunity to do something we’ve never done before?
In addition to the virtual tours offered by Google Art and Culture street view, some of the world’s greatest museums are opening their virtual doors with free online tours that might help make this difficult time a culturally enriching one.
Art Museums
The Vatican Museums, Italy: Take a tour of the Sistine Chapel and view the masterpieces of the Vatican.
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Spending Lent at home? Take these online tours of the world’s greatest museums
The Louvre, Paris, France: Three virtual tours are available: Egyptian Antiquities, Remains of the Louvre’s Moat, and Galerie d’Apollon.
Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid, Spain: Spain’s Thyssen-Bornemisza museum has a number of virtual tours of past exhibits available.
Highlights of Google Arts & Culture tours: With just a click of the mouse you can see the greatest works of art from around the world from the New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Van Gogh Museum, the Uffizi Gallery, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles’s Getty Museum, Tate Britain, The Art Institute of Chicago and many more.
Other Museums
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: Navigate your way through this popular museum, and take a virtual tours of current and past exhibits.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum: This unique museum tour takes you through the lies of immigrants who lived in the tenements of New York City during the 19th century.
The British Museum: This virtual tour allows you to travel along a timeline and pick objects from the museum. Each object is accompanied by a written and recorded explanation along with links to related artifacts in the museum.
Zoos
These zoos offer constant footage of their animals via webcams.
Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington, DC: Naked Mole-rat Cam, Lion Cam, Giant Panda Cam, Elephant Cam
San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA: Panda, Penguin, Baboon, Polar Bear, Ape, Koala, Giraffe, Burrowing Owl, Condor, Elephant & Tiger cam
Dublin Zoo, Dublin, Ireland: African Savanna animals, Penguins, Elephants
And today we celebrate...