Best of the Web: Museum Websites

Periodically we compile a list of the best of what the Internet has to offer to teachers—be that in the classroom or just in daily life. The current edition, “Museum Websites” highlights the best museum websites the Internet has to offer. You'll find interactive content, curriculum materials, online exhibits and much more in the following links.

If you would like to suggest a topic, please email us at info@teacherscount.org.

Museum Websites

Atlanta History Center

Online visitors can take a virtual tour of historic homes, gardens, and exhibits at the Atlanta History Center's home page. Included are images, tour information, and curriculum materials that can be used in conjunction with a visit to the center. A free registration is required for use of the curriculum materials.

Bicycle Museum of America

Images and information for many remarkable early bicycles make this online museum a fun and educational experience. You will need Flash Player 6 or higher to view almost everything on this site.

The Exploratorium

The home page for the Exploratorium provides museum information, interactive sites, online exhibits, and a digital library search.

Franklin Institute Science Museum

This museum site has interactive activities, online exhibits, biography of Ben Franklin, and an online magazine.

The Natural History Museum of London

This site features interactive activities for students, including a quest in which students can investigate mystery objects. Teachers can print copies of dinosaur data files.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

Exhibits and online activities, such as rat and salmon cams and a chemistry lab with instructions on making “Flubber,” appear on this site.

Peabody Essex Museum
Yin Yu Tang

Online visitors can explore the inside of an ancestral Chinese merchant’s house. (There is an essay competition that students in grades 6-12 can participate in after exploring the website.)

Science Museum of Minnesota

The Science Museum of Minnesota provides online activities including a learning safari across the globe, Mayan artifacts, investigations of ancient mysteries, and science and art ideas in the “thinking fountain.”

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
Corridos Sin Fronteras

This traveling exhibition and educational website celebrate the narrative songs known as corridos.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History
September 11: Bearing Witness to History

This site features photographs of September 11-related objects, as well as stories from the curators and donors.

Textile Museum of Canada & Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
Cloth and Clay

This site provides a window into more than 2,000 years of history in Mexico, Central and South America.