{"id":488002,"date":"2026-02-24T17:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/488002\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:28:09","slug":"boston-museums-bring-exhibits-home-with-virtual-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/488002\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston museums bring exhibits home with virtual experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a blizzard continues to pummel<\/a> New England, many local establishments have temporarily shut their doors to keep staff safe and visitors off the roads. However, anyone with an internet connection can still experience these Boston-area cultural institutions without having to leave the house.<\/p>\n

Listen to artist and curator talks from the Museum of Fine Arts<\/p>\n

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA) website features a variety of digital programming, including conversations with featured artists discussing their projects and curators sharing information on the museum\u2019s collections. The MFA also offers virtual exhibit tours, including those for exhibition of yore \u2014 at the time of reporting, art and objects from \u201cAncient Nubia Now<\/a>,\u201d which ran from 2019 to 2020, and \u201cGender Bending Fashion<\/a>,\u201d from 2019, can be viewed online. mfa.org\/videos<\/a><\/p>\n

Take a virtual tour of Boston\u2019s Black Heritage Trail<\/p>\n

The Museum of African American History and Google Arts & Culture offer a digital look<\/a> at Beacon Hill\u2019s Black Heritage Trail, which includes stops at the African Meeting House, the Abiel Smith School, and the homes of abolitionists John J. Smith and Lewis Hayden. The website includes dynamic photography and images \u2014 depicting the Hill on less snowcapped days \u2014 and detailed historical information about each location. maah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch \u201cBoston\u2019s Apollo\u201d exhibit programming <\/p>\n

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offers a virtual tour of its 2020 exhibit \u201cBoston\u2019s Apollo: Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent,<\/a>\u201d which showcased Sargent\u2019s drawings and historical materials about McKeller, who posed for many of the figures depicted in the artist\u2019s murals. The website also offers recordings of lectures that were held in conjunction with the display, of which Globe critic Murray Whyte had written in his review: \u201cIt asks questions about the divisions of race and class, the myth of artistic genius, and how the labor of many is often obscured and presented as the work of one.\u201d gardnermuseum.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Dive into the Aquarium\u2019s Giant Ocean Tank<\/p>\n

To zone out to a live-action screensaver, the New England Aquarium shares webcam footage from inside its Giant Ocean Tank. The 200,000 gallon, four-story saltwater tank features creatures from the Caribbean coral reef<\/a>, including green sea turtles, cownose rays, moray eels, and boxfish. neaq.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to curators and conservators from Harvard Art Museums<\/p>\n

Harvard Art Museums has uploaded a series of exhibit deep dives, educational lectures, and talks with curators, conservators, and grad students on YouTube. Each video focuses on a different painting, sculpture, or other works in their collection \u2014 from an in-depth exploration of color in the Forbes Pigment Collection to behind-the-scenes footage of art conservation processes. youtube.com\/@harvartmuseums<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore an inventor\u2019s archives<\/p>\n

The MIT Museum hosts a digital collection dedicated to the life and work of Harold \u201cDoc\u201d Edgerton, an inventor, professor and pioneer of stroboscopic photography. The website includes digitized copies of his notebooks, historical photographs, and informational text and videos about his industry-shaping role in the evolution of high-speed, flash photography. mitmuseum.mit.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch readings from Woodberry Poetry Room<\/p>\n

Woodberry Poetry Room, Harvard University\u2019s special collections reading room and literary recording archive, has a robust library of videos from their programming on YouTube, including oral histories, readings from poets and authors, lectures, and seminars featuring the likes of Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, and the late Nikki Giovanni. youtube.com\/@WoodberryPoetryRoom<\/a><\/p>\n

Annie Sarlin can be reached at annie.sarlin@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on Instagram @anniesarlinjournalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n