Virtual tour guide to all things space, from Earth to outer space
By James B. Smith Smithsonian’s Virtual Tour Guide to All Things Space and the Earth, published June 10, 2018, is a free app that will let you discover the history of the universe, explore the cosmos and even experience life on other planets.
The app will be free for people who purchase the book, as well as the Smithsonian’s online store and the Smithsonian Virtual Tour Guides for the iPad and Android devices.
The Smithsonian’s book also includes an annotated bibliography of scientific papers.
“The Smithsonian’s virtual tour guides are the most comprehensive resource of their kind,” said Adam Shackleford, Smithsonian’s director of digital exhibitions.
“This app gives you a first-hand, real-world tour experience.”
Shacklefield and the other digital tour guides in the Smithsonian digital tour program, including Tom McKeever and Dan Mather, are not the only ones who’ve taken advantage of the Smithsonian app.
On July 1, the Smithsonian will open its first digital exhibition dedicated to space.
Smithsonian is also looking to expand its digital tour library, and the virtual tour guide is a first step in that effort.
“We’re excited to be able to offer this new app to all our guests, including the Smithsonian Digital Tour Guides, so they can enjoy a virtual tour of our space and our cosmos,” said Jennifer Smith, director of the museum’s Digital and Digital Media Division.
“With this new virtual tour app, Smithsonian guests can see the space and the cosmos from the vantage point of a virtual astronaut, as they tour our most exciting space and science destinations.”
The app is available now for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and will be available for Android devices later this year.
The interactive, full-color virtual tour will include a 360-degree panoramic view of the Earth from space, an inside view of Earth from the ISS, and a 360 panoramical view of Saturn.
The museum’s virtual tours have a virtual space experience that allows guests to see from their own vantage point inside the museum, and explore the entire museum.
Smithsonian’s digital tour app has been downloaded more than 300,000 times.
The Virtual Tour History app will offer a 360 view of a 3D model of the Moon and a full 360 view, and also a 360 360 view from the International Space Station, which is the world’s largest orbiting laboratory.
Smithsonian has also offered its virtual tours in a variety of different ways.
In May 2018, Smithsonian opened a virtual museum at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., which was also the site of a live virtual tour.
The virtual museum also includes a virtual panorampic video of a man in a hat walking through a gallery, an interactive space tour of the Museum of Natural History and an interactive virtual tour that is available to visitors of the National Zoo.
Smithsonian also offers virtual tours of its National Air and Space Museum in Houston, Texas, and National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington D. C. The first Smithsonian digital tours opened in late June, and Smithsonian will expand its interactive tours to include a full-length 360 panorama of the entire Smithsonian collection, which includes more than 5,000 objects.
Smithsonian said it will continue to add new virtual tours throughout the year.
Smithsonian Digital Tours are free and available on the Smithsonian App Store, Google Play and the iPad app.
“When the Smithsonian is open and you’re visiting, you’re able to experience our museum for the first time,” Smith said.
“But the virtual tours are an amazing way to explore the collection in the way we never would have imagined.”