Virtual Cultural Exploration with Google Arts & Culture

DigCompEdu Competence Area(s)

a:4:{i:0;s:17:"Digital resources";i:1;s:19:"Teaching & learning";i:2;s:19:"Empowering learners";i:3;s:43:"Facilitating learners’ digital competence";}

Time

Preparation time 10 minutes

Implementation time minutes

Educator Progression Level

Newcomer

Target groups

Whole class or small groups

Minimum student digital skill level

Basic

Minimum student language level

A1

🎓 Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Navigate Google Arts & Culture to explore virtual tours, museum collections and interactive games.
  • Connect cultural, scientific and historical content across subjects.
  • Create and share reflections or creative outputs based on virtual experiences.

Ingredients

Item / Resource Quantity Purpose
Google Arts & Culture website or app 1 Provides virtual tours, games and AR experiences
Curated list of tours/games several Guides students to relevant content
Devices with internet access one per learner or group Access the platform

Utensils

Computers, tablets or smartphones with web browsers; optional VR headsets or AR‑enabled devices for enhanced experiences.

🥣 Preparation – Before Implementation

  1. Visit Google Arts & Culture and select tours, collections or experiments that align with your lesson objectives (e.g., International Space Station tour, Dia de los Muertos collection).
  2. Create a simple handout with guiding questions or tasks for each virtual experience.
  3. Ensure students have access to devices and know how to navigate to the specific sections of the site.

🔥 Implementation Steps

  1. Introduce the platform, emphasizing its diverse offerings: virtual tours, museum exhibitions, interactive games and AR experiences.
  2. Demonstrate how to explore a virtual tour (e.g., the International Space Station) and how to zoom in on artefacts or trigger interactive elements.
  3. Assign students (individually or in small groups) to different tours or games. Encourage them to take notes or screenshots of items that interest them.
  4. After exploration, have students share their discoveries through a short presentation, discussion or creative output (e.g., digital scrapbook, poem, diagram).

🧂 Differentiation & Inclusion

  • Offer options for learners: some may prefer guided tours with narration while others explore freely.
  • Provide language support by pairing learners and encouraging use of translation features.
  • Allow students with limited mobility or lower digital skills to work with a peer or use teacher‑guided demonstration on a shared screen.

🍴 Assessment & Feedback

🍱 Extensions / Follow‑Ups

  • Use the “Art Transfer” or “Pocket Gallery” features to create AR art exhibitions in the classroom.
  • Have students research a cultural theme they discovered and present their findings.
  • Pair with a creative writing assignment based on an artefact or site explored.

🔗 Cross‑Subject Link

  • Science: virtual tours of space stations or natural history collections link to physics and biology topics.
  • Mathematics: explore geometric patterns in art and architecture and discuss symmetry and proportions.
  • Language arts: use artwork and artefacts as story prompts or for vocabulary development.

References & Resources

Google Arts & Culture offers virtual tours, interactive games and augmented reality experiences that engage learners across subjects. Students can explore the International Space Station, dive into the ocean or visit historical museums and examine artefacts up close. Google’s Talking Tours experiment lets users select a location, explore it in Street View, and receive AI‑generated insights about the site.