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

• Alaska’s Digital Archives: Alaska’s historical resources
• Arab Image Foundation
• Archaeological Analytics: Archaeological Open Access Collections
• ArtUK: Art collections from 3,200 UK organizations
• Arte.tv: Cultural documentaries, films, and more.
• Association of Science and Technology Centers: Educational resources
• BioExplora: Natural science open collections portal (3D images, bio diversity)
• Canadian Museum of History: Virtual Exhibits, online exhibits, online collections
• Creative Commons: Aggregates all CC-licensed content and collections globally
• Digital Agnes: Canadian portal for curatorial research and online exhibitions
• DigitalNZ: 300+ collections from around New Zealand
• DPLA: Digital Public Library of America
• Europeana: 50,000,000 European works of art, books, music, and more
• English Heritage: Variety of mediums of British content (Podcasts, videos, etc.)
• Getty Research Portal: Free access to digitized art history texts
• GLAM Portals Google Search: Courtesy of Mia Ridge (context on her blog)
• Global Museum: Portal for museum news, jobs, and resources
• Google Arts & Culture: +2,000 museum partners from +80 countries
• Heritage on the Edge: A project of Google Arts & Culture
• Lithuanian Integral Museum Information System: Lithuanian heritage collections portal
• Maine Memory Network: Historical items from organizations across Maine.
• Memorica: Open access Mexican culture content portal
• Mexican Ministry of Culture: Short films, books, radio, paintings, from cultural orgs
• MIMO: Musical Instrument Museums Online (64,000+ instruments)
• Museum Crush: Select objects from a variety of museums
• NASA Image & Video Library: All NASA content is in the public domain
• NISE (National Informal Science Education): Digital library of STEM DIY resources
• Open Culture Coloring Pages: 113 museum coloring books
• OpenGLAM: Aggregates 88 unique open collections
• Paris Museums: Over 300,000 works
• Past Perfect Online: Digital collections from over 900 museums
• Project Gutenberg: 60,000 free ebooks
• The Run Around: Virtual Activities from Children’s Museums
• Science Museum Group: 325,000+ objects from 5 UK science museums
• SHOW ME: Games, collections, videos, stories from museums and galleries
• Smithsonian Open Access: Search 2.8 million images and 3D Models
• V21ArtSpace: Over 100 exhibit virtual tours
• Wikidata: “The Sum of all Paintings” metadata initiative via Wikimedia
• Wikimedia Commons: Over 20,000,000 open images
• Upgraded Points: 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours
• Urban Archive: Digital archive collections from 70+ museums
• York Museums Trust: Collections from various museums in Yorkshire, UK

Image: V21 Artspace

VIRTUAL TOURS / ONLINE EXHIBITS

Art and Culture Museums

• Arizona State Museum: Virtual Tour
• Bavarian Cultural Center of Germans from Russia: Virtual Tours
• Best Museums in Singapore (COVID Edition), complete with virtual tours
• Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery: Virtual Tours
• Byzantine and Christian Virtual Museum: Virtual Tour
• Cranbrook Art Museum, Michigan: Exhibit Virtual Tours
• Dalí Theatre-Museum, Catalonia: Virtual Tour
• Finnish Art Gallery: Virtual Tour
• The Frick, Pittsburgh: Virtual tours, online collections, activities
• Georgia Museum of Art: Online Exhibit
• Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm: VR Tour
• Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East: Explore Egypt, Mesopotamia and more in the virtual tour
• The Hermitage, Russia: Virtual Tour (YouTube)
• The Kremer Museum: VR Tour (Requires download)
• The Louvre, Paris: Virtual Tour
• Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum: Virtual Tour
• Maude Abbott Medical Museum: virtual exhibits
• Museum of Nepali Art: Virtual Tour
• Morton Arboretum: Virtual Tour
• Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts: Winston-Salem Virtual Exhibits
• Museum ofInternationalFolk Art: virtual tours
• Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford: Virtual Tour
• The Royal Museum of Mariemont: “Bye Bye Future! The Art of Time Travelling” Virtual Exhibit Tour
• São Paolo Museum of Art: Virtual Tour
• UCR ARTS: Virtual Tours, Kids Activities, Artist Interviews
• University of Aberdeen: Virtual Exhibits from cultural collections
• Vatican Museums: Virtual Tours
• Vermont Art Online: 360-degree Virtual Tours
• Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: Virtual Tour
• The World Coffee Museum: Virtual Tour

History Museums

• Canadian Museum of History: Virtual Tour
• Cliffe Castle Museum: Virtual Tour
• Diefenbunker, Canada: Virtual Tours, Coloring Pages
• Dundas Museum & Archives: 360-degree Virtual Tour
• Florence as it Was: 3D models of Florentine buildings, artworks, and squares
• George C. Marshall Museum and Library: K-12+ list of digital resources
• George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Virtual Tours, timelines, etc.
• Historic Ships in Baltimore: USS Constellation Virtual Tour
• Louisiana’s Old State Capitol: Virtual Tour
• Levine Museum of the New South: Virtual Tour of Cotton Fields to Skyscraper exhibition
• Lynn Museum: An online exhibition exploring the whaling industry
• Mexican National Institute of Anthropology & History: Virtual Tours (Flash)
• Museum of the American Revolution: Virtual Tour
• Museum of Durham History: Virtual Tour of MLK exhibit
• Museum of Flight: Virtual Tour
• The Museum of National History Frederiksborg Denmark: Virtual Tour (narrated)
• National Archaeological Museum, Spain: Virtual Museum
• National Museum of the Great Lakes: Virtual Tour
• National Museum of Singapore: Virtual Tour
• National Museum of the U.S. Air Force: Virtual Tour
• Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate: California, US Virtual Tour
• The Palace Museum: The Forbidden City, China, 360-degree Virtual Tour
• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum: Virtual Tour
• Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Museum: Virtual Tour
• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: 360-degree Equipment Tour
• Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello: Virtual Tour
• Westminster Abbey, London: Virtual Tour

Natural Science Museums

• The Ecotarium Museum of Science: 360-degree Virtual Tour
• Luxembourg National Museum of National History: Virtual Tour
• NASA Langley Research Center: Virtual Tour
• National Museum of Computing, UK: Virtual Tour
• National Museum of Natural History, US: Virtual Tour
• Oxford University Museum of Natural History: Virtual Tour with audio commentary
• Science Museum, London: Shipping Galleries Virtual Tour
• Virtual Science Museum, Sunnyvale, CA: Virtual exhibits about virtual reality

National Parks

• American Battlefield Trust: 360-degree Battlefield Tours
• Valley Forge National Park, US: Virtual Tour
• Yellowstone National Park, US: Virtual Tours
• Yosemite National Park, US: Virtual Tour

Online Exhibits

• American Writers Museum: Online Exhibit
• Art, Design & Architecture Museum: Online Exhibits
• Benjamin Franklin House: Online Exhibit
• Canadian Museum of History: Online Exhibitions
• Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Online Exhibits, Stories
• Digital Smithsonian American Art Museum: Online Exhibits, Videos
• Fashion Institute of Technology: Online Exhibits
• Getty Research Institute: Online Exhibit, “Bauhaus: Building the New Artist”
• Girl Museum: Online Exhibits
• Gregg Museum of Art & Design: Virtual Exhibits
• Historic Newton: Online Exhibits
• History Colorado: Online Exhibits
• IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts: Online Exhibit
• International Print Center New York: “(Re)Print: Five Projects” Online Exhibit
• JFK Library: “Moonshot” App and Online Interactive
• King’s College London: Online Exhibits and Special Collections
• Koshland Science Museum: Interactive Virtual Exhibits
• Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage & Education Centre: “From Coffee to Seaweed” Virtual Exhibit
• M Woods, Beijing, China: Experimental Online Exhibition
• Mercer Museum, Pennsylvania: Online Exhibits
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: Animal Live Cams
• Museum of the American Indian: “How American Indians Shaped US Identity”
• 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
• Norman Rockwell Museum: Virtual Exhibits
• Palmer Museum of Art: Online Exhibits, Tours, Etc.
• Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology: Online Exhibits
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre: Northwest Territories Virtual Exhibits
• Reina Sofía Museum Radio: Audiovisual resources; an acoustic museum experience
• Second Canvas Apps: 30 Museum Apps (Google Sheet)
• Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum
• Städel Museum: Online Exhibit
• State Museum of Pennsylvania: Online Exhibits
• Virtual Migration Museum: Interactive Online Experience / App
• Virtual Museum of Canada: Virtual Exhibits and Cultural Content
• Western North Carolina Historical Association: Hillbillyland–Myth & Reality of Appalachian Culture

E-LEARNING

• Age of Revolution: Interactive Timeline
• Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum: Activities, Coloring Pages
• Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian): Air and Space Anywhere
• Better World Museum: Draw Together in VR, Bob Ross-style videos
• Birmingham Museum of Art: Videos, interactive images, and art activities
• Bronx Zoo: Field Sight
• Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University: videos, activities, online exhibits
• Contemporary Jewish Museum: Learn about Jewish history, art, and culture
• Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University: Family Fictions Virtual Exhibition
• Denver Art Museum: Artist videos
• Discover XR: The Future of Social Media & Online Learning (YouTube)
• El Paso Museum of History: Interactive online exhibits, activity pages, family resources
• The Field Museum: The Brain Scoop (YouTube)
• Fleet Science Center: FLEETtv Science resources
• Ford’s Theater: Online Exhibits and Learning Resources
• Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art: Museum At Home
• Les Fruits de Mer: Activities, books, films about Caribbean wildlife
• George Eastman Museum: Eastman Museum at Home (activities, videos, resources)
• Glucksman Gallery: Creativity at Home kids activities
• The Hammer: Contemporary Art programs, (YouTube)
• Harvard Semitic Museum: 3D models of Egyptian archaeology and art
• HistoryView.org: Virtual Reality Tours
• The Hunter: Collection of in-gallery experiences and at-home art activities
• Indiana Geological and Water Survey: Comparing Ice Age Mammals activity
• Iroquois Indian Museum: Online games and learning resources
• KaiXR: Free Museum VR Field Trips (no VR gear needed)
• KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum: Virtual explorations, activities & educational resources
• Los Alamos History Museum: History at Home
• Massillon Museum: Digital learning resources including tours & online content
• McMullen Museum of Art: A listing of various virtual learning resources.
• MoMA Learning
• Mount Vernon: Online Learning Resources
• Museum of the American Revolution: Virtual Field Trip
• Museum of Early Trade and Crafts: Recipes, Games, Coloring Pages, etc.
• The Museum at Fit: Online Exhibits, Online Collections, YouTube, Podcast, etc.
• Museum of Modern Art: MOOC for online learning
• Museum of International Folk Art: e-learning resources for educators
• Museum Strathroy-Cardoc: Sydenham River Discovery online exhibit (Flash)
• Museum of Ventura County: Virtual learning modules for families
• Nantucket Historical Society: Transcribe the Collection
• New-York Historical Society: Online social studies programs for all grades
• North Carolina Museum of Art: Learn (collections, videos, curriculum)
• North Carolina Museum of History: Online collections, podcasts, learning packets
• Paleontological Research Institution
• Peoria Riverfront Museum: Virtual collections, exhibitions, and DIY videos
• Perot Museum of Nature and Science: Amaze Your Brain at Home
• Philadelphia Museum of Art: The John G. Johnson Collection
• The Ringling: Lesson Plans and Read-Alongs
• Royal Albert Memorial Museum: Exeter Time Trail (Interactive timeline)
• Seattle Art Museum: Videos, Collection Highlights
• The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza: Interactive Timeline
• Sketchfab: 3D Models (link goes to cultural-specific search)
• Smithsonian Learning Lab
• Speed Art Museum: At-home art-making videos
• Thomas Cole National Historic Site: Videos
• USS Constitution Museum: Engaging all ages with “Old Ironsides” online
• Virginia Museum of History & Culture: Lecture series videos

Created for Kids

• Adler Planetarium: Science Experiments for Kids (YouTube playlist)
• Alimentarium Academy: Virtual resources on food, nutrition, and digestion
• American Museum of Natural History: Ology science website for kids
• The Andy Warhol Museum: Online Lessons
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Discover the desert online
• The Bakken Museum: STEM videos and activities
• Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum: B&O Junior Junction
• 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
• Crawford Art Gallery: Art activities and coloring pages
• Exploratorium: Science Experiment “Snacks”
• Frist Kids: Art activities and videos
• Glazer Children’s Museum: Online Activities
• History Hunters: Youth Reporter Program
• House of Illustration: Curriculum-based illustration activities
• iCivics: Virtual games (free beginning with Covid-19)
• International Association of Children in Museums: Coronavirus Guide
• Jackie Robinson Museum: Clips, games, and resources
• Job Carr Cabin Museum: Activities and Downloadable Resources
• The Kennedy Center: ArtsEdge, art education resources
• Laguna Art Museum: Art Activities for all ages
• Long Island Children’s Museum: Play Outside Ideas
• Maidstone Museum: Learning with Spike at Home – crafts and activities
• MCA Chicago: “Art Like Me” Culturally-Relevant Art Workbook for Kids
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: MetKids
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: Games, Activities, Coloring Pages
• Museum of International Folk Art: Folk Art for You
• National Museum of Australia: “Fun at Home” DIY activities
• National Women’s History Museum: Take a daily “women’s history break”
• New Jersey State House Virtual Tours for Kids
• 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
• State Historical Society of Iowa: Educational Activities and Weekly Programs
• Suzhou Museum: Online Mini-Games
• Tate: Tate Kids (Games and quizzes, videos, kids’ art, etc.)
• Two Temple Place: Art activities inspired by exhibitions

ONLINE COLLECTIONS

Art and Cultural Collections

• Akron Art Museum, Ohio
• Albright-Knox, New York
• Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
• Art Museum at the University of Toronto
• Artura: Contemporary diverse art and artists
• Asheville Art Museum, North Carolina
• The Barnes Collection, Philadelphia
• The Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
• Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham, UK (art and history)
• Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art
• Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts
• Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
• Clyfford Still Museum, Denver
• Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
• Cooper Hewitt, New York (historical and contemporary design)
• Corning Museum of Glass, New York: Lectures, demos, glass blowing magic.
• Crocker Art Museum, California
• Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University
• Delaware Art Museum
• Denver Art Museum
• Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, New Mexico
• Harvard Museums of Science & Culture: digital resources including online exhibits, virtual tours, and more from four Harvard museums
• The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections
• The Guggenheim, New York
• The Hammer, LA (contemporary art)
• Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
• Iroquois Indian Museum
• The Khalili Collections: 35,000 works of art
• Kröller-Müller Museum, The Netherlands
• Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
• The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA)
• Latino Cultural Arts Center, Denver
• The Leiden Collection
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
• M+ Collections: 5,000+ Cultural Objects
• McMaster Museum of Art, Canada
• McMichael Candian Art Collection
• Minneapolis Institute of Art
• Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
• Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway (art by Edvard Munch)
• Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
• Museum of International Folk Art: folk art collection from more than 100 countries
• Museum of New Zealand
• National Museum of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• The Natural History Museum, London
• New Museum Digital Archive
• Oakland Museum of California
• Open Access at the Met
• Old Salem Museums and Gardens, Winston-Salem North Carolina
• Paris Museum of Modern Art
• Philbrook Museum of Art, Oklahoma
• Portland Art Museum
• The Rainbow Museum: Art and Photography
• Rijksmuseum: Art and Videos
• Sarmaya, Mumbai
• SCAD Museum of Art
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts, Arizona
• Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
• SMK Open: National Gallery of Denmark Collections
• Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas, US
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain
• Xul Solar Museum, Argentina
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• Victoria and Albert, UK
• The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania
• Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (visual, performing, media arts)
• The Walters, Baltimore

Science Collections

• Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
• Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University
• Discovery Park of America
• Grand Rapids Public Museum, US
• History of Science Museum, Oxford University
• Idaho Museum of Natural History
• The Horniman, UK
• MIT Museum, US
• Museum of Natural Sciences, Barcelona
• National Maritime Museum, UK
• Naturalis, Netherlands: 40,000,000 natural science collections objects
• Natural History Museum, UK
• Royal Ontario Museum, Canada

History Collections

• Brooklands Museum, Surrey, UK (cars, motorcycles, aircraft)
• Canadian Museum of History
• Chicago History Museum, Illinois
• Churchill Archives Center
• Digital Cleveland History
• Fraunces Tavern Museum
• The Hagley, Wilmington, DE
• The Henry Ford, Michigan
• Historic Beverly, Massachusetts
• Imperial War Museum, UK
• London Transport Museum, UK
• Marco Island Historical Society
• The Museum of Flight, Seattle
• Museum of History and Industry, Seattle
• National Army Museum, UK
• National Museum of African American History & Culture
• National Museum of Korea
• New York Archaeological Repository: Nearly 1,000,000 objects
• Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
• Royal Armouries Collections
• Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library Collections
• South West Collections, England
• UK Postal Museum
• University of Dundee, Scotland
• Vesterheim Virtual Galleries
• Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Virginia

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
• Connecticut Digital Archive
• 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
• Manar al-Athar: Image resource for Middle Eastern archaeological sites
• National Archives of Japan
• The National Archives, UK
• New York Public Library: 880,000+ digitized prints, manuscripts, videos, etc.
• The Bartlett Library at the Museum of International Folk Art
• Trinity College Library Dublin
• Trove: National Library of Australia images, books, newspapers, maps, etc.
• US National Archives Catalog
• Villanova Digital Library
• Wellcome Library

Huge thanks to the many who have written helpful blogs with their favorite museum tech resources. Your contributions are all included here: Cuseum, Mia Ridge, Jenni Fuchs, and Alicja Peszkowska.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• The 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours Around the World [Art, History, Science, and Technology]

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.”