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Franklin Public Library

Special cultural tours and concerts for the whole family while staying safe at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

MUSEUMS AND ARCHITECTURE

Online Exhibits

Virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world.

museums

Detroit Institute
of Arts

At home with the DIA.

arts

The Smithsonian Museum

Explore from your living room.

Musuem red brick building

Historical Society
of Michigan

Michigan History for Kids.

history

Paris Musees

Online collection of artwork from 14 museums in Paris

Virtual art visits

Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Tours

12 Virtual Frank Lloyd Wright Building Tours

Architecture virtual tours

Arts & Culture Virtual Tours

Explore panoramic or street views of famous sites and museums in 360 through.

arts and culture

Below are some museums which you could visit virtually:

British Museum, London

This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. You can also find hundreds of artifacts on the museum’s virtual tour.

Guggenheim Museum, New York

Google’s Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase without ever leaving home. From there, you can discover incredible works of art from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary eras.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This famous American art museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second is a collection of works from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

You can virtually walk through this popular gallery that houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914. Get a peek at artworks from Monet, Cézanne, and Gauguin, among others.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

One of Korea’s popular museums can be accessed from anywhere around the world. Google’s virtual tour takes you through six floors of Contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

As one of Germany’s largest museums, Pergamon has a lot to offer – even if you can’t physically be there. This historical museum is home to plenty of ancient artifacts including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and, of course, the Pergamon Altar.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Explore the masterworks from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt. Google offers a Street View tour of this iconic museum, so you can feel as if you’re actually wandering its halls.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Anyone who is a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close) by virtually visiting this museum – the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

European artworks from as far back as the 8th Century can be found in this California art museum. Take a Street View tour to discover a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

This less well-known gallery houses the art collection of one of Florence, Italy’s most famous families, the de'Medicis. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 specifically for Cosimo I de'Medici, but anyone can wander its halls from anywhere in the world.

MASP, São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a non-profit and Brazil’s first modern museum. Artworks placed on clear perspex frames make it seem like the artwork is hovering in midair. Take a virtual tour to experience the wondrous display for yourself.

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

Built in 1964, this museum is dedicated to the archaeology and history of Mexico’s pre-Hispanic heritage. There are 23 exhibit rooms filled with ancient artifacts, including some from the Mayan civilization.

HISTORICAL PLACES

Colonial Williamsburg

 Living-history museum about historic district of Williamsburg, Virginia.

Brick manor, Colonial Williamsburg Museum

Washington, D.C.

Virtual tour of Washington, D.C. with 360-degree video.

Capitol in Washington DC in sunset

Mount Vernon Estate

American landmark and former plantation of George Washington, first President of the United States.

Back of mansion with chairs

Monticello

Primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.

White and brown manor house

GARDENS

Monet's Giverny

Painter Claude Monet's house and gardens in Giverny, France.

Orange flowers in front of Claude Monet's house with blue shutters

United States Botanic Gardens

Botanic garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Exotic palm leaves

British Gardens 

Virtual garden tours from the U.K. and abroad.

White spiral stair in conservatory

NATIONAL PARKS

Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

This virtual tour lets you explore glaciers, fjords, and icebergs located in the Alaskan wilderness. Descend into an icy crevasse, kayak through majestic icebergs, and even see how a glacier melts and the effects that climate change has on this frozen terrain. Kenai Fjords has over 40 glaciers in the Harding Icefield, according to the National Park Service website, and the tour begins with a peek into Exit Glacier, one of the only accessible glaciers by road within the national park.

Hawai’i 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.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Located in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico, this popular park has over 100 caves. On this virtual tour, you can take a walk through the fascinating caverns, view incredible rock formations, and even see thousands of bats who live in the cave system. You can even “experience” life as a bat thanks to this park’s impressive simulation.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

The beautiful, red and orange hoodoos of this famous desert landscape are now on full display, even if you’re in your living room. This virtual tour centered on Sunset Point lets you enjoy the star-filled night sky from this Dark Sky certified national park, get up close and personal with the park’s unique rock formations, and even take a horseback ride through the canyon from the comfort of your own home.

Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

This remote and severely underrated park is located 70 miles west of Key West, according to the National Park Service website. Thanks to this virtual tour, you no longer have to book a seaplane or boat to get there. Visit the Civil War-era Fort Jefferson, swim through the third largest coral reef in the world, and even take an exploratory dive into a shipwreck from 1907.

KIDS

Historical Society
of Michigan

Michigan History for Kids.

history

Explore Livecams

Africa, Bears, Birds,
Oceans, Dogs, Cats,
Sanctuaries, Zen Cams
live and zen cams

Zoos and more!

Massive list of zoos, theme parks and museums offering virtual tours.

Tiger yawning in zoo

MUSIC

Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Music Replay

On-demand video streaming
archive of past concerts.

music replay

The Metropolitan Opera

Nightly Met opera streams.

Opera house red velvet balconies