We are all curious beings at heart, and play is one of the best ways to learn. This school holidays, why not learn about famous artwork and culturally significant people, places, and moments – in a totally fun and engaging way?
Check out these gaming experiments on Google Arts & Culture Lab, drawn from the cultural treasures of hundreds of our partner institutions which can easily be worked into a quality family time at home – whether you prefer a solo experience or enjoy doing them with others:
Restore pieces of art back into one piece
Puzzle Party, a collection of collaborative jigsaw puzzles, are made for family and friends to solve together (you can also play solo, if that’s how you roll). Dive into the rich detail of over 500 artworks, including Andy Warhol’s “Flowers,” Johannes Vermer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and Amy Sherald’s “First Lady Michelle Obama” You can even choose between three different difficulty settings so everyone in the family can pitch in.
Quick, lock in your answers for what came first!
What Came First: the Statue of Liberty or the game of volleyball? The faster you select the correct answer, the higher your score. And if it isn’t enough to know just when something emerged into the world, you can dig a little deeper into the history by tapping on an item to reveal more information. With hundreds of items from across different categories such as culture, inventions, celebrities and more.
Get cultured through a word puzzle
Cultural Crosswords are a fun way to explore art, history, or themes such as African textiles or yoga postures. Tap on the boxes in the grid to reveal the clue and fill in your solution. Once you’ve got the right answer, you can click through and discover more about it – in this game, words are gateways to arts and culture.
Discover more art through visual pairings
If regular crosswords are too easy for you, Visual Crosswords take the concept a step further – instead of letters, you’ll be using images to solve puzzles. Figure out where each artwork fits in the grid: Is it Renaissance or Modern? Is it Van Gogh or Gaugin—or both? Drag each one to the correct box and progress through levels of difficulty.
Add color to famous paintings in your own way
Van Gogh’s sunflowers might be yellow, but yours don’t have to be. Coloring has always been a favorite activity for children, but it’s becoming increasingly popular among adults looking for some mindful downtime. Exercise your talents with Art Coloring Book and get inspired as you color famous artworks and even landmarks from Street View.
No matter if you’re playing for fun or to learn something new, we hope “Play with Arts & Culture” will help add some much-needed splashes of color to your day. Try them on your computer via g.co/artgames, or play it through your Google Arts & Culture Android app.
Have fun with it and enjoy the great school holiday!