As shelter-in-place regulations arrive at the 30-day mark, people are growing increasingly eager to return to their regular lifestyles. This has led to a common thread of citizens feeling as though their typical ways of entertainment are simply not cutting it as they once did at quarantine’s beginning. Thankfully, for the culturally curious, there is still a way to indulge in cultural manifestations and education while staying safe at home. 

Fast Company, a monthly American business magazine that focuses on technology, business and design, reports that Google Arts & Culture has partnered with over 2,500 museums and galleries around the world to bring people virtual tours and online exhibitions of some of the world’s most famous museums in the comfort of their very own homes. 

Google Arts & Culture, created by the Google Cultural Institute, has a massive virtuosic collection of artistry comprised of works from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Guggenheim in New York City and hundreds of other places where people can find information on art, history and science. 

The collection is a great resource for college students that want to stay on top of their studies while schools are closed, or for those who simply desire another way to fill the days with things to do. While there is an overwhelming selection, the site gives guests a place to start, curating a shortlist of its top 10 virtual museums. 

The digital platform utilizes high-resolution image technology that allows the viewer to virtually tour collections and galleries of partner organizations as well as explore the artworks’ physical and contextual information. The platform includes advanced search capabilities, educational tools and is available in 18 different languages. 

Though not all famous museums and galleries are included in the Google Art and Culture collection, some museums are taking it upon themselves to go online. According to Fast Company, the Louvre also offers virtual tours on its website. Other museums around the world are jumping on the virtual-sharing trend by posting their greatest art on social media to help people cope with being home. This includes New York’s Metropolitan Opera, which will be offering free digital shows every night at 7:30 p.m. 

Yet, what sets the Google Arts and Culture app aside from guests viewing art tours through, say, Youtube videos or from an Instagram post, is its Virtual Gallery Tour, or Gallery View, creation.

Users can virtually ‘walk through’ the galleries of each partner cultural organization, using the same controls as Google Street View or by clicking on the gallery’s floor plan. 

Although a lot of museums had the virtual tours already set in place pre-Covid-19, the demand for new and different entertainment ramps up as the days go by. This has inspired other institutions to also go virtual, like The Cincinnati Zoo, which holds a daily ‘home safari’ on its Facebook Live Feed around 3 p.m., daily. Another is Walt Disney World, which has virtual tours guests can take that include Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot, to name a few. 

Next time Sonoma State students, professors and faculty members alike find themselves struggling to find the next series to stream or movie to queue up on Netflix, consider checking out a prime way to switch up and diversify one’s entertainment options through touring virtual art museums.