How to tour Morton Arboretum online

The Morton Arboretum has joined Google and some of the world's most-loved natural history institutions to provide an online experience that allows people to virtually browse through treasured collections of natural history in one place.

The Google Cultural Institute provides an interactive discovery experience of the diversity and fragility of nature at g.co/naturalhistory. The site offers a chance to browse more than 100 stories related to dinosaurs, plants, insects, minerals and the planet's evolution over billions of years. The Morton Arboretum's exhibits include its tree collections, history and focus on global tree conservation. The exhibits are:

• Can You Imagine a World Without Trees? - A virtual look at the plight of trees today, examining the critical role of arboreta in tree science and conservation.

• What Is an Arboretum? - A look at the legacy and history of the Morton Arboretum and its ongoing work to care for and conserve trees.

• Great Trees - A tour of some of the Morton Arboretum's most iconic and rare tree species in its collections.

As part of the virtual exhibit, panoramic Google Street View imagery gives people a backstage pass to explore the arboretum 24/7, including Street View of select trails and roads.

"Through nearly a century of tree-focused research, educational programs, exhibits and outreach, the Morton Arboretum has inspired visitors and supporters to help create a greener, healthier, more beautiful world," said Carissa Dougherty, head of knowledge management at the Morton Arboretum.

"But the issues surrounding trees today, from climate change to pest issues to disease, extend far beyond the arboretum's borders - they impact everyone on this planet.

"Today, we're proud to partner with the Google Cultural Institute to not only enable anyone with access to a device to take a virtual tour of our trails, but to also be inspired by the impactful stories about the legacy and work of the arboretum, to care and conserve trees for the benefit of all."

The Google Cultural Institute works together with more than 1,000 organizations to put the world's cultural treasures at the fingertips of internet users and is building tools that allow the cultural sector to share more of its diverse heritage online.

For this exhibition, natural history institutions from 15 countries created more than 100 interactive stories, sharing a total of 300,000 photos, videos and other documents online in collaboration with Google.

The exhibitions on the Google Cultural Institute are open for all, for free on the Web and through the new Google Arts and Culture mobile app on iOS and Android. Visitors can watch all of the 360-degree videos on YouTube.