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Cool Finds

Your Christmas Tree May Be Turned Into Mouthwash One Day

A new sustainable chemical process can turn pine needles into a chemical feedstock for paint, food sweeteners, mouthwash and other products

The portal allows users to narrow down search results by "design-specific" terms, as well as geographic, chronological parameters.

Digital Trove of Typographical Artifacts Set to Launch in 2019

The Letterform Archive’s online database features book jackets, posters, brochures and miscellaneous ephemera dating between 1844 and 2016

Trending Today

New Animal Overpass Is Already Protecting Critters in Washington State

The bridge over Interstate 90 will allow animals to cross the busy roadway and connects wildlife in the North and South Cascades

Google Virtual Tour Preserves Collections Destroyed in Brazil Museum Fire

Back in 2016, the tech giant had begun working to digitize the museum’s collections

Egon Schiele, "Self-Portrait with Lowered Head," 1912

New Digital Archive Provides Critical Record of Egon Schiele’s Body of Work

Online catalogue raisonné features over 400 paintings, graphics, sketchbooks and sculptures, with additional drawings, watercolors set to be added in 2019

3D printed model of Pumapunku

Archaeologist Reconstructs Ruins of Tiwanaku Temple in Bolivia Using 3-D Printing Technology

It was like an ‘elaborate lego set,’ says UC Berkeley’s Alexei Vranich

“Nellie Bly: The Virtual Reality Experience” tracks Bly’s travels from Egypt to Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, San Francisco and beyond

VR Experience Lets You Join Nellie Bly on Her 72-Day Trip Around the World

The Newseum, Vive collaboration catalogues the intrepid reporter’s record-breaking journey

Trending Today

By the End of 2018 More Than Half the World Will Be Online

In the past decade, there’s been a huge spike in internet access though that number is beginning to slow down

Claude-Joseph Vernet, "The Storm," 1759

How a New Hampshire Museum Is Using Art to Reach Families Affected by the Opioid Crisis

The ‘Art of Hope’ initiative encourages participants to draw connections between works of art and their own lives

New Research

No, Wait, This Is the Real Ava, a Bronze Age Woman From the Scottish Highlands

New DNA evidence drastically changes the image of the young woman buried in Caithness 4,250 years ago

The virtual museum features seven rooms focused on themes such as correspondence, music and flirtation.

Virtual Travel

Explore Vermeer’s Surviving Paintings, Together After All This Time, in One Virtual Exhibition

The augmented reality “Meet Vermeer” experience details the Dutch Old Master’s artistic style, life and enduring legacy

The majority of homicides catalogued on the map occurred in public places, including crowded streets and markets

Relive Medieval London’s Bloody Murders With This New Interactive Death Map

The macabre tool features tales of revenge, thwarted love, infanticide—and a urinal that drove a man to murder

Pulter's poems offer an intimate glimpse into the private life of a 17th-century noblewoman

Critically Explore 17th-Century Noblewoman’s Little-Known Poems Online

Hester Pulter’s works detail chaotic political landscape of the English Civil War, scientific discoveries, theological queries, personal struggles

"Rome Reborn" currently features site-specific tours of the Roman forum and the Basilica Maxentius

Virtual Travel

Ambitious VR Experience Restores 7,000 Roman Buildings, Monuments to Their Former Glory

You can take an aerial tour of the city circa 320 A.D. or stop by specific sites for in-depth exploration

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, "The Battle Between Carnival and Lent," 1559

Online Portal Reveals Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Creative Process

The project’s launch coincides with a blockbuster Vienna retrospective celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Flemish old master’s death

Monet's "Water Lilies" panels were installed at the Musee d'Orangerie in 1927, one year after the artist's death

Step Into Claude Monet’s World With This Immersive VR Exploration of ‘Water Lilies’

New VR experience whisks participants from Paris museum to Impressionist’s Giverny garden and studio

A trip to the British Museum may be one of the social prescribing options outlined by U.K. doctors

British Doctors May Soon Prescribe Art, Music, Dance, Singing Lessons

Campaign is expected to launch across the entire U.K. by 2023

Cool Finds

This Remote Control Vest Trains Rescue Dogs Using Flashlights

By aiming little spots of light, handlers can direct their fearless doggos through disaster areas

Montreal doctors will soon be able to prescribe free museum visits for patients and a limited number of loved ones or caregivers

Art Meets Science

Canadian Doctors Will Soon Be Able to Prescribe Museum Visits as Treatment

An afternoon of art may offer serotonin mood boost, welcome distraction from chronic pain

The southwestern city of Chengdu may bask in the glow of an artificial moon as soon as 2020

Chinese City Wants to Launch Fake Moon to Illuminate Its Streets

Proposed satellite would cover 6- to 50-mile wide stretch of Chengdu with light eight times brighter than that of the real moon

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