Explore the Smithsonian Natural History Museum without the travel.

Submitted 10 years ago

Community Review for Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Dana O.
Dana O.
North Allegheny School District
Pittsburgh PA, US
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

I love that this site allows students to visit a museum and discover things they may have never been able to see before. The site can be used on a computer or mobile device and has an incredible zoom so that you can see all of the exhibits just like you would if you were actually there.

How I Use It

This site has one of the best inclusive museum virtual tours I have seen. It's a great resource for students who are studying anything that can be found in their exhibits. It can be used for whole group instruction, or for students to gather information individually. I would definitely give the students some sort of guide/guiding questions to follow while using the site. I wish the Smithsonian would do similar virtual tours for all of their museums!

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More community reviews for Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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Erin W.
Erin W. Teacher Ann Arbor, MI
June 30, 2016

Very specific information, not applicable to all SS/Sci curriculum

Some of their resources sounded really cool, like Nutrients for Humanity, where students help solve food shortage issues in Africa by studying nutrients in soil. However, the link to this resource brought us to page that said the page had moved. Similarly, the Decoding Mars resource where students study patterns on Earth to search for water on Mars, however to truly explore this resource students have to be individually registered. Overall I felt that while this resource had some thoughtful options, none were easily nor quickly applied in the classroom.
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Luke J.
Luke J. Technology coordinator Chicago, IL
April 29, 2015

Explore the entire history of our planet from your classroom

Virtual museum tours are slowly becoming possible and available for many of the larger museums worldwide. Since they are still relatively new, there are many ways to make it more interactive and enjoyable. I think the Smithsonian should and will devote more resources to make this tour an easier to use and fun site to visit in the future.
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