As Chicagoans adjust to staying home these days due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the closure of schools, many businesses and public institutions as well as social distancing and limiting group gatherings around the country, some Museums, Cultural Institutions and Libraries have taken to virtual tours to keep everyone entertained.
Being stuck inside doesn’t stop you from experiencing some of the city’s best cultural offerings and attractions from the comfort of your home. Thanks to technology, you get to enjoy free access to exhibitions going on at museums and other public institutions just by taking a virtual tour.
An exciting place to begin with is the Shedd Aquarium. Even though the Aquarium is currently closed to the public through April 20, you can still keep up to date on the daily lives of the aquarium’s animals right from the comfort of your couch by taking a virtual tour on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and even on YouTube. You can also check out live views on https://www.sheddaquarium.org/exhibits/underwater-beauty-exhibit from the Underwater Beauty special exhibit and also dive deep with 360-video views on https://www.sheddaquarium.org/care-and-conservation/keep-sharks-swimming in order to keep the Sharks Swimming and many more. Enjoy every bit of this virtual tour and make your stay at home more memorable.
Another great place to enjoy a virtual tour is the Field Museum. The Museum is currently closed and has postponed any hosted programs but have assured the public of reopening hopefully on March 29 as a result of CONVID-19. However, they have also promised to stay connected via all their social media handles to prevent you from missing out. Take a look at and enjoy this virtual tour of Chicago’s favourite dinosaur Sue storming through closed FieldMuseum to meet Penguins which was recently posted on Field Museum’s social media account.
Google’s Arts & Culture Platform is also a great place to take a look at. Coronavirus might mean months could pass before you get the opportunity of visiting a museum and getting the chance to physically stand before a masterpiece again which is the reason why many Chicago Institutions with regards to the Google’s Arts and Culture platform offer digitized access to their exhibitions and an interactive “explore” function in some instances which permits you to take a virtual stroll from room to room at will. The unending joy is its capacity to take you on a virtual tour into the textural world of a piece of art. All you have to do is download for free on your smartphone or tablet the Google Arts & Culture app and voila, you are good to go.
Other list for virtual touring also includes Adler Planetarium, Art Institute of Chicago and neighbourhood museums such as the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, the IIT Institute of Design, National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen and the Washington Park’s DuSable Museum of African American History.
History lovers are not left out. You can while away time at home by heading to the website of Newberry Library to browse over 1million texts and images. You also have the option of tuning into an audio archive of past lectures, seminars and events from the comfort of your couch. Also, the Chicago History Museum provides access via Google’s Arts & Culture website and its own portal to its online collections. A virtual tour right from the comfort of your home you don’t want to miss out on.
Some of the above-mentioned cultural institutions are putting into place playful and more driven measures and approaches to keep the public busy and entertained as current circumstances provide them no option than staying in.
Animal lovers also get the chance to enjoy the virtual tour Brookfield Zoo is providing to stay-at-home viewers. Viewers get the chance to see various species up close daily with its ‘Bring The Zoo To You’ broadcast, which will be streaming live on Brookfield Zoo’s Facebook page every weekday at 11.00am.
When it comes to virtual tours, the good news is, you are not limited to only local collections and institutions so use the opportunity to take virtual trips around the world to check out their best museums, libraries and other attractions which are closed down temporarily.
Drop your comments below and let us know what you are doing to keep yourself busy at home.
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