Virtual Voyages: Exploring Museums from Your Living Room

Abby Dougherty
3 min readJun 22, 2024

Imagine stepping into a world where you can explore the greatest museums on Earth without ever leaving your home. This is the magic of Virtual Reality (VR) museums. To embark on this incredible journey, you need just a few pieces of equipment and a bit of know-how.

First, you need a VR headset. Options range from high-end models like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive to more accessible choices like Google Cardboard (Virtual Reality Society, 2023). Along with the headset, make sure you have a compatible device, whether it’s a VR-ready PC, a smartphone, or a gaming console.

Once you have your equipment ready, choose a VR museum platform. Google Arts & Culture offers a treasure trove of virtual tours from renowned museums worldwide (Google Arts & Culture, n.d.). If you use Oculus, the Oculus Store has apps like “The VR Museum of Fine Art” (Oculus, 2023). Steam VR is another fantastic platform with a variety of VR museum experiences (Steam, 2023). Many individual museums also host their own VR tours on their websites, providing unique and tailored experiences.

With your chosen platform, you’re ready to dive in. Begin by downloading and installing the VR museum app on your device. Follow the instructions to connect your VR headset, ensuring it’s set up correctly for an optimal experience. Launch the app or…

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Abby Dougherty

Abby Dougherty, PhD, loves to learn, and produce scholarship on relational-cultural theory, virtual reality, AI, and using mindfulness in counselor education.