In times when museums are closed, no libraries are accessible and social interactions are extremely limited, cultural institutions are intensifying their efforts to make their offerings available to people despite the very special situation. With the help of new technologies, it is possible to visit cultural institutions virtually without leaving home. Advantages for you: Nobody blocks the view (a virtual museum is never crowded), you can stay as long as you want and most of the offers are for free.
A great overview and collection of museums, exhibitions and cultural hotspots is offered by Google Arts & Culture. Here you find a lot of opportunities classified by subject, artist, location or type of art. The page leads you to online exhibitions where you get detailed information on the art work and the artist as well as to virtual visits in famous museums around the world. Thus, you can, for example, easily access the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in in Washington D.C. or the National Gallery in London. There is definitely a lot to discover! The location filter alone offers you, for example, 140 different exhibitions from the United Kingdom.
National Gallery, London 
Smithsonian National Museum of History and Art, Washington DC 
Guggenheim Museum, New York
In addition to the this extensive collection of cultural offers worldwide, it is also worthwhile to search for particular institutions according to your interests. During my research for this article I found, for example, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and its virtual provision. I never thought that I would spend so much time in discovering the flora and fauna of the African Bush or that I would spend so much time in the so called „Bone halls“ where you can discover and examine skeletons of many different species. Without traveling to Australia you also can access the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and start different virtual 3D tours through various exhibitions. Many institutions also have YouTube channels where you can find videos about the collections, art-making techniques, exhibitions or related programming. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, has a great Youtube channel named „The Met“ with many artist interviews. Watching them can be a good way for you to practice your English on the one hand and to get more in touch with art and culture on the other.
This article only gives you an idea of what the cultural world offers online. We are looking forward to hearing your experiences. Are there any special online offers you have tried? Do not hesitate to share your thoughts and contact us!
