Google Art Project is more than just an interesting way to learn about art.  It is an online virtual field trip with exciting tools built right in.  Students can visit art works in multiple museums, by artists, or by genre.  This enables teachers to really diversify the “trip” to the collections without the field trip hassles.  It is possible to travel the globe with some possibilities being The White House Collection to the Auckland Art Gallery.  There are also castles and unique collections in the data base.  Teachers can also use the language feature for 18 different possibilities that will allow access and comprehension for ESL students.  There are fantastic teaching tools if you click the education button at the bottom of the screen.  Some of the tools include 118 videos about artists and collections as well as tutorials on the brushstrokes of famous artists.

Using Google Art Project and clicking  on a collection will provide a viewer with 360 degree views of most rooms and artwork in the collection. Students can also move around, explore the building, and zoom in on each individual piece of art. While zoomed in, information to the right of the screen provides commentary on that piece of work. A floor plan is provided for navigation.

Teachers can plan the experience by dividing into specific groups based on common interests, by country, or artist.  Collaboration is possible and  allowing students the freedom to tour specific museums and report findings might be a great way to “take” them to as many museums as you have students.  Adding artworks into social studies or English content lessons projects can help visual learners explore possible connections through cross-curricular subjects.  With the new standards including sections about using technology to enhance speaking and listening, students can delve into visual art using cutting edge technology and the internet tools found at this site.

Can a virtual field trip be as good as a real one? Perhaps not. However, Google Art Project can certainly provide many of the same educational benefits and it can build a desire in children to actually want to travel to see the real thing in the future!