Explore Virtual Tours & VR

Virtual Tours & Virtual Reality in Your Library Learning Commons

Are you looking for new resources to add to your public library collection? Digital Human Library has curated the world’s first web-based collection of virtual tours and virtual reality (VR) experiences that can help you achieve your goals of educating the public and enhancing access to technology – no hardware required! Public library members can access over 1800+ virtual tours which include elements like 360° videos and panoramas, narrated tours, live cameras, and virtual reality experiences. With 14 different categories to choose from, members can experience a whole new world of learning like never before!

VR can take a reader inside a book, provide a new perspective on an historical event, and introduce learners to new people, places, and ideas from around the world. The unique qualities of virtual reality (VR) such as immersion and interactivity make VR a highly sought after resource in today’s public library makerspaces.

Did You Know?

The virtual reality market has a projected value of 227 billion by 2029 (up 45% from 11 billion in 2023), with an estimated 171 million current users worldwide and growing. The unique qualities of virtual reality such as immersion and interactivity make virtual reality a highly sought after resource in today’s education and public library markets.

Benefits of Virtual Reality in Your Learning Commons/ Makerspace:

Brings learning to life
Creates new opportunities and accessibility for all members to explore new people, places and ideas around the world
Boosts excitement and motivation to learn
Engages members as active participants in their own learning
Improves understanding of complex ideas, concepts, and subjects
Increases knowledge retention and memory
Builds emotional intelligence, awareness and understanding
Develops cultural competencies and digital literacy skills
Improves critical thinking and problem solving skills
Makes learning fun

Sample Tours

Blacktip Reef (Animals)

Blacktip Reef is a breathtaking, award-winning exhibit full of color, light and movement located in the heart of National Aquarium. This coral-filled livestream exhibit, replicating Indo-Pacific reefs, is active with life that guests can experience from many vantage points, including a new floor-to-ceiling pop-out viewing window that allows guests to virtually come face to face with the animals.

The Australian Museum’s Unsettled Exhibition – Australia (Arts & Culture)

Unsettled uncovers the untold histories behind Australia’s foundation story. In this powerful 360 degree interactive exhibition, First Nations voices reveal the hidden stories of devastation, survival and the fight for recognition. These first-hand accounts are presented through long hidden historical documents, large-scale artworks, immersive experiences and never-before-seen objects from the Australian Museum collections and beyond. NOTE: Topics and multimedia content in this virtual tour may be sensitive for some viewers. If you are 13 years of age or younger, please ask an adult to preview this tour before you go any further. CW: massacres and genocide

Farm Food 360 (How Things Are Made, Occupations)

Immerse yourself in Canadian farm and food tours! Learn about apples, berries, greenhouse vegetables, potatoes, beans, mushrooms, dairy cows, veal, beef, pig, turkey, chicken, sheep, mink, milk and cheese, boiler breeders and hatcheries, eggs, grain, oats and more!

The Royal Canadian Mint Museum (How Things Are Made, Museums)

Take a virtual tour inside the Royal Canadian Mint and learn about how money is made including manufacturing coins, collector coins, gold and silver bullion, medals, medallions, and tokens.

Holocaust Memorial Museum Tour (Museums)

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Tour the Museum’s Online Exhibits and learn from the world’s leading online authority on the Holocaust. Information on the site is available in 16 languages.

Solar System Tour (Space)

Solar System Scope is an incredibly accurate solar system tour, allowing you to explore the solar system, the night sky and outer space in real-time. All of the objects on the tour are accurately positioned based on where they are right this very second, and the tour contains interesting facts and information about the many objects in space.

Virtual Biome Tours | Ask A Biologist (STEM)

Travel through time between seasons, learn about a few venomous creatures in the desert, or explore grasslands, savannas, tropical rainforests, temperate forests, and tundras. Shrink down to take a tour inside a beehive, or watch hummingbirds feed. You can even take a virtual tour through a laboratory to learn how teams of scientists hunt for viruses. It’s time to start exploring!

Public Library Member User Guide

Virtual Tours & Virtual Reality Explained

Curious about the difference between a virtual tour and virtual reality experience?

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Virtual Tours & Virtual Reality Resources

More and more libraries are integrating virtual tours and virtual reality experiences into their learning commons and makerspaces to enhance engagement and ignite passion for new learning. VR is transforming the way educational content is experienced by immersing youth, adults and seniors in what they’re learning — real or imagined — and by allowing library members to interact with it. Being immersed in what you’re learning motivates people to learn in new creative ways.

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