22 June 2025 
12 minutes Even during times of disruption — whether due to wartime, a pandemic, or other circumstances that require us to stay indoors or limit our movement — we can still embark on fascinating scientific journeys from home. Many science and natural history museums around the world offer free virtual tours – just a click away on your computer. These experiences can offer hours of curiosity and enjoyment, whether you’re exploring on your own or as a shared family activity.
We’ve gathered details and links to some of the most intriguing virtual museum tours available online.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Museum Highlights: One of the largest natural history museums in the world, the Smithsonian houses an extraordinary collection of over 145 million specimens. These include plants, taxidermied animals, fossils, rocks, meteorites, minerals, crystals, archaeological artifacts, and more. Collectively, they tell the story of Earth — encompassing both its living organisms and non-living elements.
What You Can Explore: The museum offers virtual tours of its permanent and temporary exhibitions, such as the Bone Hall, the Butterfly Pavilion, or an extensive exhibit of artifacts from Africa. You can also explore past exhibitions, such as Cyprus: Crossroads of Civilizations or an exhibition on the dramatic 2010 rescue of miners trapped in the San José mine in Chile.
Navigation through the virtual museum is done using blue arrows on the floor and your mouse or trackpad. Camera icons allow you to view some exhibits and explanations up close, though using the scroll option often provides a better zoom. Some displays also offer recorded guided tours.
Location: Washington, D.C., United States
Visit Online: Self-guided virtual tour avaliable of the museum; selected exhibits include audio-narrated guided tours.
More to Explore: The museum’s YouTube channel offers a variety of science-related videos.
Over a Century of bringing science to the public. The museum in an aerial photo and a 1926 illustration | Source: Amanda, Library of Congress, Wikipedia
Idaho Museum of Natural History
Museum Highlights: The official natural history museum of the state of Idaho, USA. It features a wide range of exhibits in anthropology, paleontology, earth sciences, and life sciences.
What You Can Explore: The museum offers a comprehensive virtual experience through its dedicated online platform. Visitors can view museum exhibits in 3D through images and short videos, complete with details about their actual size, origin, and context. The virtual collection is organized into four sections: fossils, ancient human-made tools, osteology (the study of bones), and plants.
Location: Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, United States
Visit Online: The Idaho Virtual Museum
A museum that gets into your bones. Front view of the Natural History Museum at Idaho State University | Photo: Abbaby, Wikipedia
Galileo Museum (Museo Galileo)
Museum Highlights: Located in Florence, Italy, the Galileo Museum is dedicated to the history of science and to the legacy of Galileo Galilei, one of history’s greatest scientists and astronomers. The museum showcases a remarkable collection of scientific instruments, including many from the Medici and Lorraine dynasties, with a focus on Italian scientific achievements from Galileo’s era through the 20th century.
What You Can Explore: The museum’s website offers a series of virtual tours through its exhibition halls, presented via Flash-based files. It also features an extensive multimedia section with videos, detailed descriptions of exhibits, and the option to download the full museum catalog in PDF format.
Location: Florence, Italy
Visit Online: The museum’s virtual website and online tours of the museum.
A vast collection of scientific instruments from the Middle Ages onward. Museo Galileo | Photo from the museum website
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Museum Highlights: This four-story museum features an impressive array of permanent natural science exhibits — including a dinosaur hall, a butterfly house, planetarium, and a variety of rotating exhibitions covering topics from astronomy to ecology.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual tour of the museum’s permanent exhibits through Google Arts & Culture.
Location: Houston, Texas, United States
Visit Online: Virtual tour
More to Explore: The museum’s official website
Four floors of exhibits and displays. The museum in Houston | Photo: Wolfgang Manousek, Wikipedia
The National Museum of Computing (UK)
Museum Highlights: Dedicated to the history of computing, this museum is located near the site where Alan Turing and Britain’s early computer pioneers worked during World War II. It showcases early computing systems and traces the development of computers through the decades.
What You Can Explore: A virtual tour of the museum navigated with your mouse, featuring detailed images and explanations for some exhibit components. The content is rich, and the interface is simple and user-friendly.
Location: Bletchley Park, England
Visit Online: Explore the museum through its online virtual tour
The development of computing over the years. The museum at Bletchley Park | Photo: Adam Bradley, Wikipedia
Milan Natural History Museum (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano)
Museum Highlights: This large natural history museum and the oldest civic museum in Milan features an extensive mineral collection, a paleontology section, a human evolution exhibit, and various zoological displays.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual tour of the museum’s permanent exhibitions via Google Arts & Culture.
Location: Milan, Italy
Visit Online: Virtual tour powered by Google Arts & Culture
An impressive paleontological display. Skeleton of a pygmy elephant at the Milan Natural History Museum | Photo: Stefano Stabile, Wikipedia
Natural History Museum, London
Museum Highlights: One of the largest and most iconic natural history and science museums in the world, this museum houses approximately 80 million specimens from around the globe. Its collections span multiple scientific fields, including botany, entomology, mineralogy, zoology, and paleontology.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual tour of the museum’s permanent exhibitions through Google Arts & Culture
Location: London, United Kingdom
Visit Online: Virtual tour
One of the largest museums of its kind. The Diplodocus skeleton at the London Natural History Museum | Photo: Ballista, Wikipedia
Berlin Museum of Natural History (Museum für Naturkunde Berlin)
Museum Highlights: This museum is home to approximately 30 million specimens spanning the life sciences, paleontology, and mineralogy. Among its exhibits is a rare fossil of the Archaeopteryx, one of the earliest known bird species
What You Can Explore: Explore the museum’s permanent exhibitions through a virtual tour on Google Arts & Culture
Location: Berlin, Germany
Visit Online: Virtual tour
A glimpse into a vast collection. The dinosaur hall at the Museum of Natural History, Berlin | Photo: Ilja.nieuwland, Wikipedia
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Museum Highlights: Located in the heart of New York City, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is home to approximately 14,000 plant species from around the world. It offers visitors a chance to explore an extraordinary diversity of flora.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual stroll through the garden’s permanent displays via Google Arts & Culture. The tour includes visuals only, with no additional explanations.
Location: New York, United States
Visit Online: Virtual tour
A tour among approximately 14,000 plant species. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden | Photo: King of Hearts, Wikipedia
German Oceanographic Museum (Deutsches Meeresmuseum)
Museum Highlights: Located in the historic port city of Stralsund, Germany, this museum is one of the country’s leading institutions for marine science and oceanography. It features engaging exhibits on marine ecosystems, ocean exploration, fisheries, and climate research — as well as aquariums with species from tropical and temperate waters. Please note: most on-site signage is in German.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual tour of the museum’s permanent exhibitions via Google Arts & Culture. The tour provides a visual experience only and does not include additional explanations.
Location: Stralsund, Germany
Visit Online: Virtual tour
National Institute of Biological Resources, South Korea
Museum Highlights:
The museum of South Korea’s National Institute of Biological Resources offers a unique display of the region’s biodiversity, featuring taxidermied terrestrial and marine mammals, birds, and an extensive insect collection — primarily focusing on Korea’s native species and ecosystems.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual tour of the museum’s permanent exhibition via Google Arts & Culture. While most display signs are in Korean, the visuals speak for themselves.
Location: Incheon, South Korea
Visit Online: Virtual tour
Biodiversity of East Asia. A taxidermied Amur goral (long-tailed goral) on display at the museum | Photo: Museum website
Museum of Mercury Mines of Mount Amiata (Museo Delle Miniere di Mercurio del Monte Amiata)
Museum Highlights: This small but distinctive museum in Santa Fiora, Italy, is dedicated to the history of mercury mining. It offers insight into the daily lives of miners, the tools they used, and the minerals they extracted from the Monte Amiata region.
What You Can Explore: Take a virtual tour of the museum’s permanent exhibition via Google Arts & Culture. While detailed explanations are not provided, some Italian-language display signs can be read when zoomed in.
Location: Santa Fiora, Italy
Visit Online: Virtual tour
A small and unique museum. Display of mining equipment | Photo: Museum website
The Smithsonian: National Air and Space Museum
Museum Highlights: The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., devoted to aviation and space exploration, maintains one of the world’s largest collections of aviation and space artifacts. Its exhibitions trace the history of human flight — from the earliest aircraft to modern space missions — including highlights from NASA missions across the solar system and more.
What You Can Explore: While the museum’s website does not offer a fully immersive virtual tour, it features a wealth of information, images, presentations, and fascinating historical stories. Many of the exhibitions can be explored virtually under the On View Exhibition tag, though these rely on older formats such as Flash and QuickTime and contain relatively limited content.
Location: Washington, D.C., United States
Visit Online: Explore the museum’s website for digital resources and exhibition highlights
Also Recommended: Interactive multimedia videos for kids on aviation and space ( Flash required)
Milestones in aviation history. The museum’s entrance hall | Photo: Jawed Karim, Wikipedia
The Virtual Museum of Molecules and Minerals
Museum Highlights: This fully online museum by the University of Wisconsin offers educational content and interactive 3D visualizations of a wide range of molecules and materials.
What You Can Explore:
Browse a selection of 3D molecular models, each accompanied by explanations. The site uses the JSmol applet for visualization, which may not be compatible with certain browser extensions.
Location: Online
Visit Online: Access via the official website
Visualizations of various molecules and crystals. The virtual museum | Screenshot
History of Science Museum – University of Oxford
Museum Highlights: Operated by the University of Oxford, this museum features both permanent and temporary exhibitions dedicated to the history of science. Its rich collection includes historic scientific instruments such as astrolabes used for navigation, mathematical tools, and early devices from the fields of chemistry, medicine, and more.
What You Can Explore: Browse photos of the museum’s exhibitions, accompanied by detailed explanations.
Location: University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Visit Online: Images and descriptions of the museum’s exhibits on its website
From ancient navigation instruments to medical equipment. The façade of the History of Science Museum at the University of Oxford | Source: Wikipedia, public domain
More natural history virtual tours available
