Many muse ums have put tog eth er multim edia virtual tours th at are almost prefera ble to
tick et entry tim e s and crowd-p a ck e d halls. A s an ex a mple, the Uffizi G allery in F lorence has a
w e lcom e vid e o and general inform ation on its “Mus e um” tab; one can brows e works by artist.
A map helps visitors prepare for the arra ng e m e nt of colle cti ons, but virtual tourists can explore
the mus e um via 360-d egre e room a cc e ss th at allow the m to z oom in and sele ct individual
works ha nging on the virtual walls. Individual piece inform ation is limited, but the overall
exp erie nc e is more thorough than most.
“Virtual Tour” 360 degree panoramic tools for the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
O fficial collection w e b sites like th e British Muse um cre a te virtual tours of collections
th a t are less intera ctiv e , but substa ntia lly curated for e duca tion al purpose s— argua bly fulfilling
th e ir cultural “function” quite efficie ntly. O ne can pre pare for and get glimps e s of spe cial
exhibits, tour m ajor parts of the collection, and acce ss sp e cially de sign e d onlin e tours like " The
G la dia tor.” O n an e duc ation al level, spe cial exhibits like “The Myth of the Troja n W ar,” which
p a ir a ncie nt pottery in th e ir collection with sta g es of H om er’s e pic account, are quite useful and
e a sily share d via onlin e te a ching platforms. T he se tools are fre e to all vie w ers without
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