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Contact: Emily Linroth, 202-619-7156
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site featured in new partnership with Google WASHINGTON –You can virtually tour Frederick Douglass' home from anywhere with a 360-degree interior view of Cedar Hill and learn about artifacts from his life, thanks to a new partnership between the National Park Service (NPS) and Google. The Google Cultural Institute is a digital platform that makes hundreds of historically and culturally significant objects in the National Park Service's museum collection available online. It uses technologies similar to Google's Street View—providing 360-degree views on Google Maps of locations around the world—to photograph and virtually map important artifacts, photos, records and works of art to share important material with global audiences and digitally preserve them for future generations. "The National Park Service is proud to partner with Google to make important symbols of our shared national heritage accessible to more Americans than ever," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "Visitors to the National Park Service collection in the Google Cultural Institute will have the unique opportunity to see rare Native American artifacts, browse inspiring works of art that convey our nation's history and natural beauty, and virtually walk through the homes of great American thinkers, like Frederick Douglass and Thomas Edison." Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is one of the eight pilot parks featured with an interior 360-degree view. "We're excited to connect more visitors with Frederick Douglass' legacy and give them an inside look at his life through the Google Cultural Institute," Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail said. "This virtual collection and tour help us share the story of one of America's civil rights heroes with even more people across the country and the world." Visitors celebrated Douglass' 198th birthday with behind-the-scenes tours at his home at Cedar Hill and events in historic Anacostia on February 12 and 13. The theme of this year's annual birthday celebration was "Visiting Cedar Hill, Visiting National Parks," which explored the stories of people who visited Douglass and what it was like to travel in the Victorian Era. Thanks to the new partnership, anyone who wasn't able to attend the weekend events or who would like to learn more about Frederick Douglass can visit the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site collection in the Google Cultural Institute. The Google Cultural Institute features more than 3,800 artifacts, works of art, and records from NPS museum collections. Exhibits include a Centennial Virtual Exhibit, which features at least one significant museum object from more 350 national parks. Users can alsobuild their own collections to share or take virtual, panoramic tours of homes of eminent Americans. The NPS, celebrating its Centennial anniversary this year, is home to one of the world's largest museum systems, which helps tell powerful stories of America's land, people, and significant events and ideas that continue to inspire the world.www.nps.gov/frdo
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Last updated: February 19, 2016