Visit a virtual museum

“Daddy, this coronavirus is bad news for you. We’re all grounded, so you can’t make me go to museums with you anymore!” Pangzi said triumphantly. Poor thing, he hasn’t heard of Google Arts & Culture.

“Do you know you can now visit almost every museum in the world that you like?” I countered.

“Impossible. We cannot fly!”

“Well, we don’t have to go to the museum. We let the museum come to us.”

“Are you pulling my leg?” he quizzed.

“It’s called the virtual museum. You don’t have to leave the house,” I explained. “Visit anytime you like, using just a browser.”

“Really? Can I see The Scream? I feel like screaming in this lockdown.”

“Edward Munch? Yes, this takes you all the way to Oslo to see his famous Expressionism works.”

“How about The Starry Night? I’m seeing stars trapped at home,” he complained.

“Vincent Van Gogh? Why not, just transport yourself to New York when you visit this virtual museum,” I suggested.

“Wow, is this going to be the norm? We have virtual school, virtual concerts, virtual everything…”

“I’m not sure about the rest, but I can see virtual art going somewhere. It’s made for the Internet.”

“Anything more electrifying? I’m running out of energy here,” Pangzi sighed.

“Try the Power Station of Art. Go back to Shanghai in a flash,” I enthused.

“Sounds interesting. Is there anything I can’t find in there?”

“Thousands of museums. Millions of artwork. Why don’t you spend the weekend exploring?”

So Pangzi was tricked into clicking through the virtual museum. You could walk through the place and see each piece of artwork upfront, as if you were really there.

That not just saved me the agony of finding him something to do at home, but also saved me a lot of money for skipping the actual tour next time.

“Daddy, the virtual museum is fun but when all this is over, can we go to a real museum?”

Thought you’ll never ask.

We were here:

(Anywhere with Internet connection)