Though many New Yorkers may be feeling blue that most of the public offerings in the city are closed, you’d be surprised how many online features museums and more actually offer.
From virtual tours to podcasts to online collections, here’s how you can visit NYC museums without actually visiting, plus a few other venues that are getting creative with how they’re connecting with visitors online!
The Met
The Met 360° Project: These six short videos are taken with special 360° spherical technology to allow people to see the museum completely differently, even from when you visit in person (they strung cables, removed protective covers from art, and rigged cameras up super high!).
Here’s how to engage:
- On your smartphone: Move your phone up, down, and behind you to see all directions.
- On your desktop computer: Use the mouse to scroll in all directions. (Note: For an optimal user experience, use Chrome or Firefox as your browser.)
- On Google Cardboard or a VR headset
You can also check out some of their other extensive online features here, including interviews with curators as well as modern photographers and artists, plus fascinating videos (like one about how they had to make a new tutu for their cast of Degas’s famous dancer sculpture) here.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Thanks to Google Arts & Culture, you can take an actual digital walk-through of the museum, “walking” around and exploring the art simply by clicking your computer! You can even click on each piece of art to get more info. Technology is amazing. Go on a tour here.
MoMA
The Magazine: MoMA’s digital magazine promises interviews, studio visits, behind-the-scenes videos, original artist commissions, and more. Learn all the secrets so the next time you visit you are in the know!
Courses: Did you know MoMA has a ton of completely free online course options? Now’s your chance to major in art! Choose from “Fashion as Design,” “In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting,” “What is Contemporary Art?” and more.
The Way I See It Podcast & Other Audio: On their website, you can listen to all of the audio tour descriptions from the actual museum while viewing photos of the art, so you can really feel like you’re there. They also have a podcast interviewing all different cultural “thinkers” (from Roxane Gay to Steve Martin) about their thoughts on different works at the MoMA.
Museum of the City of New York
Digital Collections: MCNY has an amazing photography collection, and right from their website you can click through the works of Stanley Kubrick and Jacob A. Riis, to snapshots from the 1939 World’s Fair.
Stories Blog: They also have a blog with more in-depth details on collections and behind-the-scenes stories from the museum staff.
New-York Historical Society
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9sA2MaB00Z/
Digital Content: Brush up on your American history by listening to audio from the New-York Historical Society’s public programs (like an interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg!) or watch video previews of new collections.
Weekly Newsletter: They will also be expanding on their curated content in a weekly e-blast, which you can sign up for here. And on social (see above).
The Morgan Library & Museum
The gorgeous Morgan Library & Museum has special curated online collections which can be viewed here. Go even deeper with these informational videos.
New York Public Library
Not a museum, but don’t forget about the NYPL’s SimplyE (free) e-book reader, plus other audio books and digital resources here.
featured image source: Google Arts & Culture