Using a computer or mobile device, visitors may use virtual tours to explore the museum’s exhibits and locations on their own at their own pace, room by room. Along with historical exhibits that are no longer on display, visitors can also access specific collections and study areas at our satellite support and research stations.

How to Navigate the Site

Getting to the Virtual Tour is simple, click the VISIT tab up on the top. Scroll down the the VISIT AT HOME click on the READ MORE and it will bring you the Virtual Tour page. There you can find the ACCESS THE TOURS and pick which tour you would like to go on from your computer or smart device.

Current Exhibits

The tour I went on was the Current Exhibits. Once clicked on the Current Exhibit box it sent me to a long list of all of the exhibits, the list starts from the entrance where the Big Elephant is all the way to the Museum Grounds.

You can start your tour at any part of the Museum! I started in the Hall of Mammals, there are a list of links that can take you to any part of the exhibits.

Seeing the Exhibit

It was amazing with all of the angle you could do while in the Virtual Tour. The control panel let you move 360 degrees so you can see all of the exhibits angles. The arrows allowed me to move left, right, up, and down. You can even enhance the screen with the + or get closer to the exhibits with the – .

My Experience

The Virtual Tour was a great way to see all of the fun and educational exhibits at the Smithsonian. It was easy to use and best of all it was FREE! This would be a great activity to do in a classroom! It can be a fun scavenger hunt to do with the whole class. Over all I rate the Virtual Tour experience a 8 out of 10, I rather be in person and it took me a minute to get the hang of using the control bar but it was fun to explore the Museum being at home.