Britney Vernon's List: Social Studies

Spain's national museum. home for the art collections of Spain's royal family. For a quick overview of the museums collections, click on the Visits area for the 50 most relevant works of the Museo Nacional Del Prado. In this section, you can see Durer's "Self Portrait," Rubens'"Adoration of the Magi," as well as the masterpieces of El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez.

From this central starting point, you can access the sites of individual Amithsonian museums, as well as a history of the institution's development. Alternately, you can search the online collections of all the group's museums by artist, title, or keyword.

Founded in 1753, the British museum houses one of the world's richest collections of art, antiquities, and cultural history. Site offers virtual tours. Younger visitors will want to begin their online tours at the children's compass.

One of the best known art museums in the world, the Louvre of Paris is home to such treasures as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Take the virtual tour, which introduces the main galleries of the louvre. You also can explore the riches of the Louvre's holdings by visiting the Selected Works section, which guides you to Objects d'Arts, Paintings, Prints and Drawings, Sculptures, and Antiquities.

Lets visitors examine thousands of representative examples of the museum's 2 million plus artifacts in the Permanent Collection section. While there, you can explore the Met's featured exhibitions, take the Director's Tour, or view some of the Met's newest acquisitions. A good starting place for younger visitors is MuseumKids (www.metmuseum.org/explore/museumkids.htm)