Posted by Edward Jacques on February 20, 2020

The Google Arts and Culture Project

Resource Overview

The Google Arts and Culture project serves a virtual home to many of the world’s most famous museums and historical landmarks. Among the hilights of the collection are gigapixel images of some of the world’s most famous artworks, 360 degree images and video and the ability to tap in to Google’s Street View cameras as they capture famous sites from around the world.

As the name implies, a heavy emphasis is placed on collections of world reknowned art institutions from around the world. However, there are also many exhibits that put an emphasis on historical events and figures. Additionally, Google has created any of their own collections centered around various themes.

Tips and Tricks

As you might imagine, just like any museum, it is easy to get lost in all the various exhibits. I know for myself personally, I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer maginitude of the collection.

With that in mind, here are a few tips for finding interesting resources from within the vast collection:

• Know what you’re looking for? Then go ahead and search!
  • If there is one thing that Google is definitely good at, it is searching. If you know exactly the type of resource you’re looking for, utilize the search feature. For example, if I wanted to have my students research Abraham Lincoln simply click the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner and search for him by name. Simply doing that will return various collections and stories about our 16th president.
• Need some inspiration? Try Themes
  • Don’t know where to start? Take a peek at Themes and see what strikes your fancy. For example, A Giant Leap for Mankind celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. One particuarily striking theme is American Democracy which offers an amazing look into the lives of past Presidents of the Untited States and events that shaped democracy.
• Been there before? Try collections!
  • Perhaps you’ve been to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City? Or the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston? Maybe the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge? If so, jump on over to Collections and visit your favorite museum virtually.

Caveats

• Needless to say, as an online art and culture museum, so there isn’t really an censorship on content, much like other museums around the world. Before introducing this resource to your classes I would suggest taking some time to preview the contents.