Summer is a great time to travel but it’s not always feasible due to high gas and airfare prices or just simply not enough time. Well, don’t worry because there are places online that let you visit their museums and collections virtually. I have compiled a list with links to museums that either let you “walk around” the exhibits and look at all the things or let you can dive deep into their collections and archives.
Smithsonian Museums
List of all Smithsonian Museums
All the branches of the Smithsonian Museum have great websites that you make you feel like you can get lost for hours. There are online exhibits that go in depth on a topic just like the actual museums. You can click on the “Object History” see who donated it, the history of said object, and more. Here are some of my favorite online exhibits:
FOOD: Transforming the American Table
Apollo 11 (I wonder if that food is still edible?)
People and Places of the Pacific
This monkey and this dog
Anne Frank House
Link to the all online exhibits
You do not need a passport to visit the Secret Annex and learn about Anne Frank’s life in hiding. You can walk through the secret bookshelf and enter secluded life of the Franks during one of the most tumultuous time in history. You can also read in-depth biographies of all the people involved and see the famed diary which Anne named Kitty.
Jim Crowe Museum
Link to a video overview by the museum’s founder and curator
This museum’s aim is to teach tolerance with objects of intolerance. It has the largest accessible collection of artifacts of intolerance, mainly focusing on civil rights, caricatures of Black and African American people, cartoons, music, and so many other things. It includes artifacts from centuries ago to things that can be bought today.
Video tours of various museums
Warning: Not for people with weak stomachs. This museum in Philadelphia showcases medical wonders, including a slice of Einstein’s brain, two people whose muscles turned into bone, and a cast of Eng and Cheng Bunker.
These playlists showcases all the weird stuff Ripley’s has in their archives. I feel like I’m a kid again, looking through the books watching these videos.
The Henry Ford Museum has way more than just cars. It is a museum of innovation so any mechanical thing you can think of, they probably have it or a story to tell about it. The videos are entertaining and funny, like this one about that creepy doll that keeps showing up in my blogs. My favorite item in their collection is the Kennedy Presidential Limo.
If you still want more, you can visit this list of international museums you can visit virtually. You can also check out a pass to the Durham Museum in Omaha right here in the library – free of charge!
Sources:
Online Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution (si.edu)
Food | National Museum of American History (si.edu)
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/antibody-initiative
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/monkey-able/nasm_A19840869000
https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/people-and-places-of-the-pacific
https://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/circleofdance/
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=X9ou6MvycZU
https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/web-and-digital/
https://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/explore-exhibits.htm
https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/index.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTWaAM_FqlU
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours