Google Art Project adds over 200 3D objects to its collection from museums worldwide

A part of the Google Cultural Institute, the Google Art Project has already been talked about quite a bit this year. Back in March, it added 5,000 new pieces of street art to its collection and even branched off a Street Wear Watchface app for Android Wear devices.

The newest feature launched today will allow museums from around the world to upload 3D objects of their prized possessions, allowing viewers to pan/tilt/zoom/etc. to their heart’s content. A large source of the already-available 200 pieces comes from the California Academy of Sciences’ animal skull collection. So for all you osteologists out there, get ready for a total time-sink!

The Google Cultural Institute is one of my all-time favorite websites. It’s like having a museum in your very own home, or pocket, to explore. The wealth of knowledge and artwork provided by the website makes it, in my opinion, an Internet landmark and maybe one of the greatest “products” Google has ever produced.

It’s important to note that the website goes beyond animal skulls and graffiti art. Sticking to its namesake, Google is adamant about preserving and sharing culture and history. A few months ago, Google, working hand-in-hand with the Auschwitz Museum and others, highlighted the 70 year anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination center, Auschwitz. An important goal behind this was to show a striking contrast between the Nazi attempts to erase the prisoners’ individuality and the endurance of these prisoners during these hard times.

For the past three years, the Google Cultural Institute has been working with institutions and associations to preserve and share online thousands of archives, images and videos telling the stories from the Holocaust. The Auschwitz Museum participated in this project from the beginning, adding hundreds of documents and inviting you to discover individual stories like the love of Edek Galinski and Mala Zimetbaum or the unique collection of family photographs found in the ruins of the camp. Learn more on the “Evacuation and Liberation of the Auschwitz camp” and the “Sonderkommando” through these new online exhibitions.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I encourage you to bookmark GCI and visit it as often as possible.

Source: The Verge

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