42 Interactive History Lessons From Google

If you’re looking for a free and useful tool to help bring history to life, Google has you covered. The search giant has been making big strides into education lately and classrooms around the world are benefiting. The Google Cultural Institute is an elegantly designed but elaborate resource that offers a glimpse into key happenings from years past.

The website uses a horizontal-scrolling timeline view to help create a sense of time passing. There’s multimedia, interaction, and a lot to learn. Here’s a few more details from Google:

Each exhibition features a narrative which links the archive material together to unlock the different perspectives, nuances and tales behind these events. Among others you’ll see:

Tragic love at Auschwitz – the story of Edek & Mala, a couple in love who try to escape Auschwitz
Jan Karski, Humanity’s hero – first-hand video testimony from the man who attempted to inform the world about the existence of the Holocaust
Faith in the Human Spirit is not Lost – tracing the history of Yad Vashem’s efforts to honor courageous individuals who attempted to rescue Jews during the Holocaust
Steve Biko – a 15-year-old’s political awakening in the midst of the Apartheid movement featuring nine documents never released in the public domain before
D-Day – details of the famous landings including color photographs, personal letters and the D-Day order itself from Admiral Ramsay
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – an account of the 1953 Coronation including color photographs
Years of the Dolce Vita – a look at the era of the “good life” in Italy including the fashion, food, cars and culture

As with the other archives that we’ve helped bring onto the Internet, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, you can zoom in to see photos in great detail and search through millions of items for a specific country, person, event or date. Watch our video for some guidance about how to find your way around the exhibitions.

The historical collections are the latest chapter in the work of the Google Cultural Institute, following the Art Project, World Wonders and the Nelson Mandela archives. We’re working closely with museums, foundations and other archives around the world to make more cultural and historical material accessible online and by doing so preserve it for future generations.