Google sure knows how to celebrate a landmark birthday.
With the National Park Service turning 100 this year, Google added 40 national parks to its Street View imagery on Thursday. The parks include Montezuma Castle National Monument (pictured above), Alcatraz and the Eisenhower National Historic Site to name a few.
As part of the announcement, the Google Cultural Institute launched a collection of 3,800 objects from over 350 national park sites. Those objects include everything from Thomas Edison's laboratory desk (Thomas Edison National Historic Park), a group shot of the Tuskegee Airmen (Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site) and a life mask of President Abraham Lincoln (Ford Theater).
"From America's "crown jewels" of breathtaking parklands to cultural sites and historic treasures, the National Park Service museum collections provides a window into the United States: past, present and future," Google wrote on its Cultural Institute page.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, announced Google's collaboration with the National Park Service at an event for Black History Month at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
"This marriage of technology and history means that anyone, anywhere can see artifacts and sites that, provide a taste of the rich and diverse story of America," Jewell said, as reported in a U.S. Department of the Interior press release. "Our hope is that this partnership will not only illustrate and elevate our nation's history and culture, but inspire more people to visit the wonderfully diverse places that the National Park Service protects and preserves for current and future generations."
