10 things you didn’t know you could do with Google Arts and Culture

Ed Tech

Ed Tech | Thursday, February 3, 2022

10 things you didn’t know you could do with Google Arts and Culture

Google Arts and Culture is a massive collection of videos and images of cultural artifacts from over 2,000 museums around the world. But virtually visiting art exhibits is just one of the many things you can do with Google Arts and Culture. From virtually displaying life-sized art inside your house to playing in a blob opera, Google Arts and Culture runs an impressive gamut of ways to explore cultural from your own home or classroom.

The Google Arts and Culture App

There are many things you can do with web version but there is even MORE to explore when you download the Arts and Culture App available for Android and IOS.  

Once you download the app, find the camera. There, you can open up the menu of tools you can use with your mobile device's camera. 


Looking for some fun offline art adventure activities?

Google Arts and Culture partnered with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to bring you a downloadable activity book filled with coloring games, connect the dots and mazes.

Here are 10 things you didn't know you could do with Google Arts and Culture.

1. Explore pocket galleries

With the Google Arts and Culture app, you can explore some of the world's best art right from your own home or classroom. Pocket galleries use augmented reality to allow you to wander through a virtual art exhibit. Learn how to discover a virtual gallery in your pocket. 

2. Color famous artwork

One of the fun Google Arts and Culture experiments is the Art Coloring Book. Choose from many famous images to color. You can download and print the image to color or paint offline or you can color the image digitally using the creative canvas. You can share your finished artwork on social media or directly to Google Classroom.

3. Take an art selfie

Have you ever wondered which artwork looks like you? Well you can find out with the Art Selfie interactive experience in the Google Arts and Culture app. Just install the app, take a selfie and you will search through thousands of pieces of art to see if any look like you.

4. Play in a blob opera

A ridiculously fun machine learning experiment by David Li, the blob opera lets you create, record and share your own opera song. Absolutely no music experience required! 

Pair this with a tour of 11 dramatic stages around the world for an opera-inspired activity for tomorrow. 

5. Go on a Google Expedition

Google Expeditions aren't gone! They have just been moved to Google Arts and Culture. You can explore by subject or location, search for answers, explore art or architecture from around the world and more.  The best part? You can now take an expedition using ANY device! Learn more with this How to use Expeditions on Google Arts and Culture guide.

Getting Started with Virtual Field Trips

A NEW online course from Ditch That Textbook!

✈️ TONS of FREE virtual field trips you can use TOMORROW

✈️ Activities and resources for your students

✈️ Tutorials and templates to create your own

✈️ A resource locker, certificate of completion, and lots more!

6. Do the cultural 5

Get a daily dose of creativity with the Cultural 5  from Christopher Bailey, Arts & Health Lead at the World Health Organization. Watch this video to learn more about the role the arts play in health and wellness.

7. Take an (augmented) reality check

Augmented Reality lets you project 3D models of animals, artwork, artifacts, dinosaurs and more using your camera phone and the Arts and Culture App.  Try projecting a piece of artwork on your wall, bring  a deer into your garden, put a crustacean in your bathtub, and more!

8. Zoom in on art

With the Art Zoom project in Google Arts and Culture you can break a piece of art down to individual brushstrokes. You can also listen to some of the biggest names in music narrate some of the most famous artworks in the world in the Art Zoom series. 

9. Grab a lesson plan

Google Arts and Culture Project Learn has a ton, and we mean a TON, of awesome lesson plans and resources for the classroom. Check out lesson plans like Scientific Superpowers, History of Magic, Extreme Planet and more!

10. Try a crossword puzzle

Another one of Google's experiments, these crossword puzzles allow you to test your cultural knowledge or discover art through unexpected pairings.  

What are some of your favorite parts of Google Arts and culture? Please share them in the comments!


For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links:

Are you looking for quality, meaningful professional learning that both equips and inspires teachers?

Matt provides in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops and breakout sessions that equip, inspire and encourage teachers to create change in their classrooms. Teachers leave with loads of resources. They participate. They laugh. They see tech use and teaching in a new light. Click the link below to contact us and learn how you can bring Matt to your school or district!

Is Matt presenting near you soon? Check out his upcoming live events!

Explore The DTT Blog

FREE teaching ideas and templates in your inbox every week!
Subscribe to Ditch That Textbook
Love this? Don’t forget to share
  • Wilson says:

    After Going through your site, I noticed it’s unique and helpful. Keep up the good work. I would like to get more outstanding content from you. With Google Arts and Culture, you can explore some of the world’s most renowned museums and galleries, access virtual museum tours, witness cultural heritage preservation, and even engage with a global community of art enthusiasts, historians, and cultural advocates. Feel free to visit my blog for more enlightenment.

  • Raj says:

    Very informative article.
    Here are some similar articles written on education.
    Fundamental duties

  • Tamara Hardy says:

    I really loved all the google Arts and Culture information. I did run into some problems that I wonder if you can solve. As I wandered the art museums (fashion) I quickly came across naked female figures. So I switched to the activities. When I went to share them, I found to my delight that you can link them to google class. The problem is that it assigns all the kids on the same activity. So, for example, the kids are all on the same puzzle at the same time resulting in instant mayhem. I there a way to solve this? Your coloring book did solve the problem for that activity.
    Thank you for any advice you may be able to give!

  • >