Trapped, But Make It in a Museum. And Make It Interesting.
By Jack Tuttle, HCC intern
Quarantine’s got everyone trapped, missing out on the things we all love. Maybe you’ve been told to go on a virtual museum tour, and you may have thought about the ones you’ve been to before. But one of the few ups in these hard times is that museums all over the globe are opening for virtual tours, so why limit yourself to what’s just around the corner? Suddenly you can travel the world and see all these great museums without moving from your couch. (Keep your pajamas on while getting inspired? We’re in. )
The Broad (Los Angeles, CA)
Our first stop on our journey takes us to L.A. where we visit The Broad, a contemporary art museum. This museum offers a view into their “infinite mirror room.” Youtube videos take you on a lightshow experience, where the viewer can be fully immersed in the show. Music in the background provides more and more ambience, as if you were there in person.
National Museum of China (Beijing, China)
Our next trip takes us all the way to China (No passport needed.) In the National Museum of China, take a fully immersive 360 tour of exhibits of their Resplendence of the Tang Dynasty and Sunken Silver exhibitions. The Augmented Reality experience allows the viewer to get up close to the art. Walk around these exhibitions in Augmented Reality, looking in full 360 at all of the different displays. One of my favorite discoveries? A mural the size of a full wall that looked like an old piece of art depicting people entertaining royalty.
National Museum of Korea ( Seoul, South Korea)
Our next stop is a short hop to South Korea (no hop, really, stay right on that couch) where at the National Museum of Korea we are able to take 3D tours of 8 different exhibitions such as 1000 Years of Korean Design or Korean Dynasties like the Joseon Dynasty. Despite not being able to eat your favorite barbeque and pan chan, a wide range of exhibits will keep you interested.
Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Two different types of tours make Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam a necessary stop on our trip around the globe. Two separate links allow you to take different tours showing off different parts of the museum. One of these is a trip via Google maps which shows all different pieces of art. This first tour shows the entrance of the museum and all sorts of statues. The other tour, provided by the museum, is a more thorough one allowing the user to select one exhibit to see in depth. You can get surprisingly close to the different art pieces and see a good amount of detail in each painting. Some of the works have an accompanying audio feature where you can learn about the piece as opposed to just seeing it.
American Museum of Natural History (New York, New York)
This classic museum you might know from childhood is turning over a new leaf for the times. Exploring the natural history of the world is fun for children as well as adults looking to further their knowledge. Having access to both present and past exhibits gives hours of exploration and learning. (If you were going there in person, you would only be able to see the current exhibits, which you may have already seen.) Access to voice guided tours provides another layer of relaxation. All you do here is throw your feet up, let the tour do its thing, and soak it in.
National Museum of Computing (Bletchley Park, England)
Last up: England. This final stop seems fitting, with quarantine making us all more tech reliant than ever. Our last stop brings us to the National Computing Museum. Here you’re able to walk around looking at all different types of computing machines from throughout the years. Some come with links to learn even more about these inventions. One thing that really caught my eye was the world's oldest working computer all the way from 1951! This museum provides a look at how old technology really is and inspires you to think about what’s next.