14 TOOLS

Great Art History Apps and Websites

Art history can be a lens through which students view cultural and societal shifts. By studying art's major movements and contributors, including shifts in ways of thinking as well as changes in style and method, students see how all art is connected and political. Students see that artists don't just create to make something beautiful, but to struggle over what it means to exist and to represent possible futures and pasts. From ancient sculpture to modern abstraction, teachers can use these art history apps and sites to show students how important art has shaped our world. They feature vast databases of imagery for reference and research, and many also offer curricular resources to help build lessons and engage students. 

Asian Art Museum

Inventive lessons and activities integrate Asian history, art, and more

Bottom Line: It offers an in-depth look at Asia’s influence on art and history and provides lots of creative tools for educators.

Grades: Pre-K–12
Price:
Free

Smithsonian's History Explorer

Browse and use American history artifacts and activities

Bottom Line: This is a handy resource that, with some effort, will uncover resources for kick-starting curious learning.

Grades: Pre-K–12
Price:
Free

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Powerful stories and media centralize African-American history

Bottom Line: While there aren't ready-to-go curricular materials, this modern, well-curated, and well-contextualized digital collection is sure to inspire compelling lessons.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free

Smithsonian Folkways

Text-centric world music site could use more activities, music

Bottom Line: Kids won't hear every tune in its entirety, but Smithsonian Folkways' resources can help them comprehend and appreciate cultural music.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free

MetKids

Whimsical, kid-friendly intro to the wide world of art

Bottom Line: A wonderful, endlessly detailed way to get kids engaged in the world of art.

Grades: 1–6
Price:
Free

Khan Academy

Flexible learning environment offers goal-oriented personalized pathways

Bottom Line: A robust resource for targeted, individualized instruction in most standardized subject areas.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Tate Kids

Hands-on activities and explorations give the art world a splash of color

Bottom Line: A wonderful site that really engages kids in the world of art and provides great inspirations.

Grades: 3–8
Price:
Free

Civilisations AR

Nifty app gives students up-close access to historical treasures

Bottom Line: This is an undeniably cool app that encourages connection and curiosity, but without teacher support, student learning will be superficial.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

EDSITEment

Extensive humanities resource offers deep well of great content

Bottom Line: The National Endowment for the Humanities has put together an outstanding place for art, history, language, and literature.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

TED-Ed

Support kids' sense of wonder with outstanding short video lessons

Bottom Line: TED-Ed includes excellent, engaging videos and support for flipped-class lessons with an incredible community of thinkers and doers.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

Google Arts & Culture

Well-curated art and history site inspires curious learning

Bottom Line: A beautifully presented one-stop shop for compellingly curated and contextualized art, history, and culture resources, but it's lacking educator supports.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

World History Encyclopedia

Crowd-sourced ancient history site features extensive, varied resources

Bottom Line: It's free, web-based, and regularly updated with vetted info, so classrooms can turn to this site often to kick off research projects.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free

Smarthistory

Bring traditional art education to life with fresh, interactive multimedia

Bottom Line: A worthy supplement to an art history or humanities class.

Grades: 8–12
Price:
Free

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

History and art intersect on the Met's vast, reading-centric site

Bottom Line: This resource from the Metropolitan Museum of Art beautifully illustrates art's evolution and is great for research, but more interactivity would help balance out the text-heavy content.

Grades: 9–12
Price:
Free

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