Sunday, May 27, 2012

Be Prepared to Be Amazed! Visit the Google ART PROJECT!

Google has done it again in its mission to make the wonders of humanity available to everyone with a computer and access to the internet.  Their current project, which is the subject of this post, opens the doors to major museums from across the globe.  Here, 40 countries make their treasures available to all for free online.  

This site offers all of us the chance to do the unthinkable--visit EVERY major museum here on the planet in our lifetime and view over 30,000 pieces of art from over 150 collections.  Imagine how this will excite your students as you weave in works of art into your English, social studies, and math classes.  For English, it helps to capture life of the time of the novel being read.  Students learn to appreciate the tone and setting of the novels a bit more as they study the artwork of the period.  Social studies students are offered artist interpretations of major historical events and this makes the content more vivid and accessible to ELLs and others.  For math, students might study how math was used to design architectural masterpieces. 


Below are three major sections of the site:

GOOGLE ART PROJECT 
Provides an alphabetically arranged list of every museum.  Click on any one and you will be instantly transported to that museum!  I tried the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).  Click on the little orange human icon on the bottom left and you will be transported to the floor in which the exhibit you selected is exhibited.  It is the next best thing to actually being there walking around on your own.


ART WORKS VIEW
Here, type in the artwork you are specifically looking for and you will be sent there.  I picture art teachers really enjoying this link. I typed in photojournalism and selected photos from the 1930s.  Here is a photo (with notes) on General Miaja's militiamen writing letters.  World history students would definitely benefit for this tool in studying World War II for example.

MUSEUMS BY CONTINENT
This link maps out museums by continent.  Click on the yellow balloon in the country you wish to explore and you will be presented with all the museums in that area.

Great site!  Maybe it will help you plan out your well deserved summer vacations:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

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