Google Earth, Google Maps, and Tour Builder

This week we are traveling the globe and looking at art from all over the world!  I typically teach a unit with my 4th graders where we look at how to draw onion domes and begin perspective by practicing a reflective pool in front of the towers of our city.  These colorful masterpieces are inspired by the beautiful architectural element of onion domes: a playground for practicing pattern.

We begin with Exploring Google Tour Builder.  With this cool application from Google, an art teacher can travel the world with her students at the click of a button. This application is really simple to use...watch this quick video to learn how:  

This is my tour that the kids will be taking to explore Onion Domes...check it out HERE!

To bring things home a bit and focus on local art that some students may not have the opportunity to access using Google Maps Street View function.  Google Maps is very similar to Google Earth with the main difference being it is sometimes better suited for local sites.  While Google Earth has many really cool functions like being able to look at the Moon and Mars, Google Maps feels a bit easier for me to manipulate, but it is just my personal preference.  Say, for instance, I would like for my students to visit our local gallery, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.  Maybe we are preparing for a field trip there or maybe we can't get there this year and I still want the students to be aware, potentially igniting the desire for them to go with their family?  By going into Google Maps and entering the name of the museum, we can be at the front steps of the Nelson!  A very cool feature that integrates Street Maps, is to click on the pegman and drop him into the map to explore within the walls of the museum.  You can see in the screenshot below, just by dropping the pegman into the map of the Nelson, I am able to view the front hall.   From here I can explore room to room, examining the artwork as if I were really in the Nelson-Atkins!

I think this would really motivate students to go check out some of our local resources that they may not have had the awareness of prior to taking a virtual tour. Try it out!  What local resources can you find in your area?  

- Mrs. J