The National Museum of African American History and Culture Has Gone Virtual—That's Great News for Families

Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC

These days, parents are making a never-before-seen effort to expose their children to accurate history and lessons about diverse people and cultures. There are many high-quality self-led online and television resources out there. But many parents want expert perspectives that can only be experienced from a thorough and thoughtfully-curated museum exhibit. The obvious challenge during the pandemic is for many—especially parents who live in the mountains or midwest—the best museums are really far away.

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The good news is, if you're one of the many people who has been dying to get to Washington D.C. to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), you're in luck. Now, families can experience all of the rich tools to "journey through the lens of the African American experience" without the hassles of traveling.In celebration of their fifth anniversary, the NMAAHC has released its newest digital initiative, the Searchable Museum meaning families can interact with a wealth of exhibits and resources from the comfort of their homes—or anywhere else!

"The Searchable Museum reaches beyond the walls of the museum to provide a rich digital experience that includes a multimedia presentation of NMAAHC's historical narratives, collections, and educational resources," the NMAAHC announced on November 18th.

The museum is dedicated to engaging audiences worldwide with online exhibitions, virtual symposia, and digital programs that have the same immersive quality as a visit to D.C. In fact, this new online offering was in progress for more than a year and is said to be "one of the museum's largest digital undertakings."

Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC

The exhibits, which include key moments in Black American history from as early as the 14th century and a host of rarely seen behind-the-scenes resources and artifacts will benefit people of all ages and backgrounds. Every member of a family can take advantage of multifaceted digital exhibits like The History Elevator which, according to the museum, transports visitors from the 21st century to the early 1400s using multi-century images accompanied by the voice of Maya Angelou.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture plans to continue to expand its Searchable Museum, eventually bringing all of its exhibitions online.

Of course, those who can travel to the nearly 400,000-square-foot museum should but, now, parents have a more accessible way to get in on the fun!