Newcastle’s Discovery Museum joins Google Cultural Institute

People around the world can now pay a virtual visit to Newcastle’s Discovery Museum using Google’s Street View technology. The Museum has worked with Google to create a virtual tour of the museum which is now available online, as part of Google’s Cultural Institute project. It joins other Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums venues which are already a part of the project: the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle; Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields; and South Shields Museum. They appear alongside other cultural venues from around the world including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and The White House. Carolyn Ball, Manager of Discovery Museum, said: “Working with Google means that we can open up Discovery Museum to people around the world. This technology means you can navigate your way around the museum on-screen and take a close-up view of some of the key items from Discovery’s collection.” Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, which manages nine cultural venues in the North East, is continuing to work with Google to include its other venues in the Cultural Institute project. Iain Watson, Director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: “We were thrilled to be approached by Google to be a part of this project and have these excellent museums on Tyneside appear alongside some of the most exceptional cultural venues in the world.” The project allows people to navigate around the venues using a computer or mobile device, view paintings and objects from the collections, and curate personal collections of artworks. At the Laing Art Gallery, Google used their technology to photograph one of the Gallery’s best-loved paintings, Laus Veneris by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, in gigapixel format, allowing people to zoom in to brushstroke level and explore the painting in incredible detail. At Arbeia, Google street view provides a new and fascinating way to explore this Roman fort site and add extra appeal to the visitor experience. View Google’s Cultural Institute at www.google.com/culturalinstitute.