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July/August 2021 magazine cover
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Virtual Travel

As efforts to contain the effects of the COVID-19 crisis ramp up, millions of people across the globe are stuck at home. To support those searching for armchair travel inspiration, Smithsonian magazine has compiled a collection of coverage dedicated to virtual reality experiences, digital exhibits and books that will transport you to far-off lands.

Highlights

This Library in Brooklyn Is Home to the World's Largest Sketchbook Collection

With more than 50,000 sketchbooks, the Brooklyn Art Library in Williamsburg is still accepting submissions
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Literature

Take an Interactive Tour of Jane Austen's House
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Art

Inside Edgar Miller's Masterwork
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Virtual Reality

This Virtual Reality App Takes Users to Historic Armenia
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Across the U.S.

Take a Virtual Tour of Feminist Icon Gloria Steinem's Historic Manhattan Apartment

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Explore Dorothea Lange's Iconic Photos With These Online Exhibitions

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Explore Centuries of Brooklyn's History With These Newly Digitized Maps

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See Jean-Michel Basquiat Masterpieces Up Close in This Online Exhibition

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This AR Artwork Reimagines Historical Spaces Across the U.S.

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Take Virtual Tours of These Seven Historic Homes of American Artists

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Watch Fireflies Flicker From the Comfort of Home

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Sample the World's Cuisines With This Cookbook From a Popular New York Market

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Nostalgic for the North? Take a Virtual Dogsled Ride in Fairbanks, Alaska

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Explore the U.S. From Above with Smithsonian Channel's Aerial America

Smithsonian Channel is currently making all 68 full-length episodes of “Aerial America” available for free and with no login requirement on Smithsonian Channel Plus. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. EST, Smithsonian Channel will also host a live "watch party” on their Facebook page to make the “Aerial America” viewing experience interactive despite social distancing.

Smithsonian readers interested in exploring more programs from Smithsonian Channel Plus can get two free months, after signing up for a 7-day free trial with code: BRIGHTERTOGETHER.

Explore Death Valley, One of the Most Extreme Places on Earth
Take a Virtual Trip to Glacier National Park
How Alabama Became Home to 'Rocket City'
How the Olympic Mountains Got Their Name
This Is Actually America's First Small Town
How Minnesota and Music Made Bob Dylan
Rhode Island's Strikingly Unusual Clingstone Mansion
The Dark History of Maine's Harbor Island
The Volcanoes of Hawaii

International Experiences

Follow Dante's Footsteps Through Italy

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Six Wonders Built by Pioneering Women Architects

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Take a Virtual Tour of Failed Designs, From the DeLorean to Google Glass

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Their Doors May Be Closed, but Embassies Are Still Showing People the World

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New Online Tool Reveals Raphael's Sistine Chapel Cartoons in Stunning Detail

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Take a Virtual Tour of the World's Largest Circular Tomb, Augustus' Mausoleum

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Meet the Real Animals Behind Mermaids, Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures

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Celebrate Jane Austen's Birthday With a 360-Degree, Interactive Tour of Her House

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The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2020

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Virtual Museum of Lost Art Asks Visitors to Help Track Down Missing Masterpieces

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Tags

Arts and Culture

The World’s First Entirely Virtual Art Museum Is Open for Visitors

VOMA—the Virtual Online Museum of Art—is a free and fully immersive art experience
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68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections to Explore

Tour world-class museums, read historic cookbooks and browse interactive maps
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Ten Museums You Can Virtually Visit

Museums are closing their doors amid the coronavirus crisis, but many offer digital exhibitions visitors can browse from the comfort of home
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Free Game Lets Users Build and Explore Virtual Art Galleries

"Occupy White Walls" allows players to design their own art galleries—and explore others' out-of-the-box creations
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How to Virtually Explore the Smithsonian From Your Living Room

Tour a gallery of presidential portraits, print a 3-D model of a fossil or volunteer to transcribe historical documents
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How 43 Giant, Crumbling Presidential Heads Ended Up in a Virginia Field

After an ambitious monument went bust, big dreams—and big heads—remain
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Take a Virtual Tour of a 17th-Century Shipwreck

A new VR experience lets users explore the "Melckmeyt" without diving into Iceland’s freezing waters
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Take a Virtual Tour of Tate Modern's Andy Warhol Exhibition

The show ran for just five days before the London museum closed due to COVID-19
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Quarantined Couple Builds Art Museum to Entertain Pet Gerbils

The story of two bored art lovers who found a way to "a-mouse" themselves
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Natural World

From a Zebrafish to Nylon Stockings, See This Year's Small World Photography Winners

The 46th annual Nikon Small World photography competition honors the best 88 images out of over 2,000 entries
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Peer Through the Lens of the World's Best Nature Photographers

Sixty images, including the winners, from the 23rd annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice Awards go on view
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Nine Rare Natural Phenomena

Fleeting natural events for your bucket list
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This Photographer Goes to the Ends of the Earth to Capture Rarely Viewed Animals

Roie Galitz considers himself an ambassador for the creatures he photographs, capturing their intimate moments in hopes of inspiring conservation
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Arboreal 'Snow Monsters' Overrun Northern Japan Every Winter

Ice and wind transform these high altitude fir trees of into real-life White Walkers
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Let These Photos Take You on a Peaceful Paddle in Minnesota's Boundary Waters

Venturing into the wilderness for often weeks at a time, nature photographer Dawn LaPointe is used to social distancing
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See Squabbling Subway Mice and Other Top Wildlife Photos

The Natural History Museum in London has announced the top five honorees in its LUMIX People’s Choice Award competition
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Dazzling Display of Seals Wins Underwater Photographer of the Year Award

French photographer Greg Lecoeur triumphed over more than 5,500 submissions from hundreds of artists around the world
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What to Read, Watch and Do

Twelve Board Games You Can Play With Friends From Afar

These virtual versions of classic and lesser-known games are ideal for social distancing
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Ten New Travel Books to Read When You’re Stuck at Home

Don’t let the coronavirus quarantine hold you back from becoming an armchair traveler
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The Heiress Who Stole a Vermeer and Other New Books

These five November releases may have been lost in the news cycle
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Listen to Hundreds of Free Audiobooks, From Classics to Educational Texts

Audible's new service is aimed at school-age children participating in distance learning but features selections likely to appeal to all
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Hear Daniel Radcliffe Read the First Chapter of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'

The actor is one of 17 celebrities slated to participate in newly announced read-alongs of the series' first book
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Space

Take a Virtual Trip to the International Space Station

New VR simulation turns you into an orbiting astronaut
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The AR App That Lets You Experience the Moon Landing

Tied to a new series from the Smithsonian Channel, the app is the closest you can get to being on the moon without time-traveling to 1969
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NASA's New Exoplanet Travel Bureau Lets You 'Tour' Far-Distant Planets

Eager space tourists can now visit sunny Kepler-186f, a moon of Kepler-16b or the Earth-like TRAPPIST-1e virtually
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New 3-D Map Shows Milky Way's Big Twist

By mapping the distance of Cepheid stars, researchers reveal that our galaxy is warped
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Ancient Worlds

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
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Take a Free Virtual Tour of Five Egyptian Heritage Sites

The sites include the 5,000-year-old tomb of Meresankh III, the Red Monastery and the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Barquq
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Take a VR Tour of an Egyptian Queen’s Elaborate Tomb

The resting place of Queen Nefertari, the favorite wife of Ramses II, is largely closed to visitors, but it can now be explored virtually
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These 3-D Models Offer a Digital Glimpse Into 3,000 Years of Athens' History

Photographer-animator Dimitris Tsalkanis built the city from scratch and posted it online for free
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Graffiti Left by Soldiers Repairing Hadrian’s Wall Will Be Immortalized in 3-D

Historic London calls the etchings "some of the most important" along the empire’s sprawling 73-mile northern border
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See the Ancient World Through Virtual Reality

An archaeological VR company wants to show you what ruins looked like before they were, well, ruins
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