The Best Free Virtual Tours For Kids
These virtual tours are brilliant indoor activites for kids when the rain hits. Being a great way for them to explore the big wide world, in the comfort of their own living rooms. Whether theyre a keen historian and would love to see the insides of the Tower of London or a young Vincent Van Gough and set on seeing the sunflowers in person, theres a tour for everyone.
Neanderthal Flute Divje Babe Flute
The Divje Babe Flute is made from the bone of a cave bear femur, and it is pierced by holes that have the spacing and alignment of a flute. It is possibly the worlds oldest known musical instrument, and some archeologists believe that Neanderthals made it.
Divje Babe is the oldest known archaeological site in Slovenia. The cave is 45 meters long and up to 15 meters wide and is near Cerkno and the Idrijca River in Slovenia.
Researchers have uncovered more than 600 archaeological items in at least ten levels, including twenty hearths and the skeletal remains of cave bears.
This presumed flute has been associated with the period of the Neanderthals, about 43,000 years ago. It has been suggested that Neanderthals made it as a form of musical instrument.
Shop Educational Gifts And Toys At Museums Victoria Store
Keep little hands busy at home with museum puzzles, toys and activities.
Build a solar system, excavate for dinosaurs, learn about the human body, or discover the secrets of the natural world in your own backyard. And for the big kids, weve got everything from slow puzzles to conversation menus to keep brains busy.
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Great Handaxe From Furze Platt
This large handaxe was produced by the Acheulian culture of 400,000 years ago, during the Lower Palaeolithic period. It was found in Furze Platt, Berkshire, Britain in 1919.
It is one of the largest Handaxes ever found in Europe and considered too bulky to be useful, and therefore considered to have been a Neanderthal status symbol.
A handaxe is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. It is characteristic of the lower Acheulean and middle Palaeolithic periods.
The most common hand axes have a pointed end and rounded base, which gives them their distinctive shape, and both faces have been knapped to remove the natural cortex, at least partly.
Great Wall Of China Beijing China
Considered a wonder of the world, and Chinas most famous attractions, the Great Wall of China is an essential stop on any trip to the country.
It boasts a history of over 2,000 years and stretches more than 3,000 miles across several provinces of northern China, making it one of the most impressive ancient structures on the planet.
This virtual tour allows you to see several points along the wall, or you can enjoy this quick timelapse video I made walking along the Mutianyu section of the wall.
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The National Gallery London
With over 2,300 paintings, The National Gallery has an impressive collection of artworks from 1260 to 1900. One of the most visited museums in the world, it has an enviable location on Trafalgar Square.
The main building was designed by William Wilkins and opened in 1838. The Sainsbury Wing extension opened in 1991.
There are several virtual tours of the National Gallery, including a VR tour of the Sainsbury Wing, created in collaboration with Oculus. Using Matterport 3D technology, it showcases over 270 Early Renaissance paintings.
You can either enjoy the virtual 360° tour or experience it in virtual reality if you happen to have a VR headset. Theres also a Google virtual tour of 7 rooms and the Central Hall, which showcases works by Holbein, Titian and Veronese.
Pharaoh Ramesses Vi Tomb Luxor Egypt
This 360-virtual tour is pretty amazing! In it, youll see the long corridor full of hieroglyphs leading to the burial chamber, as well as Ramesses sarcophagus. I visited this tomb when I visited the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, and I have to say it brought back memories as it looks exactly as when I was there.
Ramesses was the fifth pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty of Egypt and rule the kingdom for eight years.
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The National Museum Of Computing
The National Museum of Computing offers a comprehensive 3D virtual tour of the entire museum, with multiple touch-points explaining the significance of fixtures. The online walk-through enables a point-of-view, clickable dollhouse tour of the entire building, with a wealth of supplemental materials like videos, audio files, and documents. For a fee, the museum also arranges curated virtual tours that form a more personalized experience.
Visit The National Museum of Computing.
Roman Colosseum Virtual Tour
One of the most stunning architectural feats of its time, and one of the most gut-wrenching historical sites to visit in person. In nearly 400 years of providing entertainment, its estimated that nearly 400,000 people died here. Plus almost 1 million animals.
Courtesy of Google Maps, the Roman Colosseum virtual tour takes you inside this top tourist destination. Although you cant sit on the crumbling steps and absorb the heavy atmosphere, you can walk around the public areas and imagine what it wouldve been like. Thundering with cheers and chants of the crowd, lion roars and screams cut short.
A list of best virtual tours of historic sites wouldnt be complete without the Roman Colosseum.
Want more of Italy? Check out inspiring virtual tours of cities! Naples, Pompeii Old Town Taormina in Messina. WOW.
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British Museum London Uk
This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to Tour the Great Court, see Egyptian mummies, and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone that allowed us to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Through their virtual tour, you can also see hundreds of other artifacts currently on display in this museum.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boston
Housed in an extraordinary building inspired by Venetian palaces, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum showcases over 2000 objects from around the world. Isabella Stewart Gardner was an art collector who sadly lost her only child to pneumonia.
Travelling around the world with her husband gave Isabella a renewed purpose in life. She built this three floor museum to house her collection of artifacts, including sculptures, paintings, photographs and textiles.
In 1990, two men committed the worlds largest unsolved art theft, stealing thirteen artworks. A virtual museum tour shows you where these masterpieces originally hung. A $5 million reward is offered for their safe return.
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Art Institute Of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago facilitates online visits consisting of virtual video and audio tours, searchable online collections, digital publications, as well as online lesson plans and art projects. There is even an Ask an Educator form that enables parents or teachers to communicate with museum staff who hand-pick resources to assist with lessons planning.
Visit the Art Institute of Chicago.
Holy Land Historic Sites Virtual Tour
Screenshot from virtual tour
The Holy Land virtual tour takes you through a long list of 45 amazing historic sites. With so many famous places, I found it a little overwhelming. But if you know where you want to go, choose from the drop-down menu or images .
The Holy Land virtual tour of historic sites is SO insightful. Bright, colorful churches. Lovely architecture. Vivid colors of the River Jordan. I was surprised by how tall the wailing wall is. You can almost imagine walking those sandy stone paths and running your hand along the stone walls. And feeling the Dead Sea mud squishing through your toes!
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National Palace Museum Taipei
With a permanent collection of almost 700,000 pieces stretching back 8,000 years, the National Palace Museum in Taipei boasts one of the most extensive collections of Chinese artifacts and artworks. Its virtual online platform allows you to explore the huge space and all of its permanent exhibitions. However, with such an extensive collection, you will be best served taking one of the featured tour routes, which allows you to quickly browse the museums most treasured items.
Bronze Age Gold Lunula
The Gold Lunula is a distinctive type of early Bronze Age collar necklace shaped like a crescent moon. Lunulae are flat and thin, with roundish terminals that are twisted to 45 to 90 degrees from the main body of metal.
Gold lunulae were made sometime in the period between 22002000 BC and have mostly been found in Ireland. There are also smaller numbers in other parts of Europe in areas of the continent near the Atlantic coasts.
Of the more than a hundred gold lunulae that have been identified, more than eighty are from Ireland. They were all the work of a handful of expert goldsmiths, though the three distinct types are presumed to have had different creators.
Gold Lunula finds in graves are rare, suggesting they were regarded as a clan property rather than personal possessions. Some were found in bogs, perhaps suggesting ritual deposits, more were found on higher ground, under standing stones.
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Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Spain
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao building boasts 24,000 square metres of space, 9,000 square metres of which is dedicated to exhibitions. Google Arts & Culture is home to plenty of virtual offerings from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, including online exhibits, videos and images.
It also includes highlights from the collection and a guided tour through four paintings by Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, James Rosenquist, and Sigmar Polke. Users can get a closer look at iconic contemporary artworks and take a virtual tour around the spaces and terraces of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Metropolitan Museum Of Modern Art New York
You can explore 129 artworks from arguably the most famous museum in the world through the Google Arts & Culture program. That includes some of its most prized assets, such as Van Goghs Starry Night and Rousseaus The Sleeping Gypsy. In total, MoMA boasts a collection of over 150,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models and drawings, and design objects. Even for the most learned aficionado, there are myriad opportunities to discover and learn something new about modern art.
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Natural History Museum London
From the diplodocus to the dodo, botany to butterflies, giant crystals to specimens in jars the Natural History Museums vast collection has long been a favourite of both Londoners and tourists. Get lost in the corridors and gallery spaces one treat is Dippy the dino, who despite recently going on tour still makes an appearance in the entrance hall in this interactive online guide.
The 35 Best Virtual Tours Online So You Can Travel From Home
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Stuck at home for the foreseeable future? Weve scoured the internet far and wide to find the best ways to travel from home. In between making delicious recipes from around the world and having travel-themed date nights, the rise of virtual reality really has made visiting a destination online a breeze. So after hours of hunting down the best virtual tours online, weve got 35 museums, natural wonders, wildlife feeds, and more to keep you occupied while youre stuck at home!
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The Big Events And Exhibitions Of 2020
Many great exhibitions have been forced to close early, have been delayed or have been cancelled altogether and some museums have been able to capture the shows digitally so they can still be experienced online. The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid was showing Rembrandt and Portraiture in Amsterdam, 1590-1670, when it was forced to close in March. It then launched an online tour of the show. Also in Turin, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo announced new digital initiatives on its website and social media platforms. “Even though its not possible to visit Berlinde De Bruyckeres exhibition in person, our series of daily stories posted on Instagram, Facebook and our website, will make you feel like you here,” the gallery’s website says. The city of Galway in Ireland had planned a huge cultural programme for its year as the European Capital of Culture, but then almost all of the events were cancelled. They have, however, released a video of Savage Beauty by the Finnish artist Kari Kolaone of the most spectacular outdoor light works ever created that would have drenched a five-kilometre stretch of Connemara mountain in shimmering emerald green and sapphire blue light.
A still from the guided video tour of Raphael 1520-1483 at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome
A screenshot from The Art Newspaper’s video on the Artemisia Gentileschi at the National Gallery in London
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Hawaii
One of the most popular national parks in Hawaii is now totally accessible online. This virtual tour lets you explore the Nahuku Lava Tube, which is a cave formed by flowing lava, which can drain lava from a volcano during an eruption. On the tour, you can also enjoy the stunning view from the volcanic coastal cliffs, “fly” over an active volcano, and see the effects of an eruption from 1959.
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Guggenheim Bilbao Museum Spain
So in early 2021 you can’t hop over to San Sebastián for some pintxos on a trip to Bilbao, but you will can see this brilliantly designed Frank Gehry museum with an interactive tour that shows a mesmerising video of a photographer catching a free runner scaling the outside of the building before exploring its outstanding modern art collection, with paintings by greats from Mark Rothko and Yves Klein to Willem de Kooning and Anselm Kiefer.
Cant Travel Here Are 45+ Of The Best Virtual Tours Around The World
Traveling is one of the best ways to enjoy the arts and the vibrant gradient of cultures from around the world. It lets us have that first-hand experience that can teach us and move us in many ways.
But sometimes, traveling is not an option. Whether its for financial, health, safety, or work-related reasons, we must stay home and postpone our trips.
Of course, nothing compares to experiencing the world in person. Still, many museums, landmarks, national parks, and other attractions do offer virtual tours for us to take a peek and learn about them almost the same way as if we were there.
Think of them as your prelude to the real experience to come.
Here are 45+ of the best virtual tours around the world in the following categories:
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The J Paul Getty Museum
Explore thousands of items in the Gettys collection with help from Google Arts & Culture. The J. Paul Getty Museum specifically has several interactive options for exploring their collection: a museum view virtual tour, three ebook-style online exhibits, and the library of over 15,000 collected pieces of art.
Best Online Museum Tours Around The World
After all of the adventure-packed virtual tours online that youve seen on this list so far, lets dive into some of the best virtual reality museum tours!
16. The Louvre Virtual Tour
Just because you arent in Paris, that doesnt mean you cant visit the Louvre at home! Explore the famous paintings and galleries on the Louvres website via their virtual tours. From the Galerie dApollon to the Egyptian Antiquities, find something to enjoy and maybe see in person one day on a trip to Paris.
17. British Museum Online Tour
Did you know that you could visit the British Museum online via Google Street View?! Yes, you can, and here is the link to do so! Explore artifacts from around the globe from your living room at the British Museum.
18. Pergamon Museum Virtual Reality Tour
Speaking of Google Street Maps, you can visit one of my absolute favorite history museums: the Pergamon in Berlin! Virtually walk past the Ishtar Gate , the Greek Pergamon Altar, and the Market Gate of Miletus as you encounter some of the worlds coolest ancient artifacts!
19. The Vatican Virtual Tour
The Vatican is more than the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. In fact, it has many works of art across the Vatican museums. You can visit the Sistine Chapel virtually as well as many other galleries and museums across the Vatican via its website! Many offer video or 360-degree tours!
20. Musée DOrsay Virtual Tour
21. Guggenheim Museum Virtual Tour
22. National Gallery of Art Virtual Tour
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Amazing Virtual Museum Tours
Virtual Museum Tours are steadily becoming more and more common. VR has the power to transport users to places they might never be able to visit in real life so welcoming digital visitors into the museums of the world is a natural fit. Its also a huge win for students across the globe as they get to explore some amazing pieces of world history with unprecedented access and ease.
This really strikes a chord with me as an international educator, working in a British curriculum school in the Middle East. Access to museums here is limited and exhibits tend to focus on Middle Eastern history. Theres nothing wrong with this of course theres some amazing artefacts to be seen but our curriculum goes much further. Take for example when I was working in Year 3 when I first moved here in 2008. Much like the Year 3 students I had been teaching in London, the pupils in Dubai worked on an Ancient Egypt project. Of course the students back home got to visit the British Museum to see some of the worlds most famous Egyptian relics. No such luck for the students here
Some museums opt for virtual tours in the form of interactive online maps. Others choose to share image galleries or banks of 3D scans of their artefacts. VR offers the most immersive experience though and here Id like to share ten of my favourite virtual museum tours. Ive tried to choose from a range of platforms to highlight the variety on offer.
3. National Museum of IraqPLATFORM: Google Expeditions
