If you’ve used the Google Expeditions VR systems in your instruction, there is an important update you need to know. As of June 30, 2021, you will no longer be able to download or access the Google Expeditions mobile app. This means using Google Expeditions the way you have in the classroom will no longer be possible. In order to continue using these VR systems, our recommendation is installing the Google Arts & Culture app. This content is available for iOS and Android devices. 


Once this change takes effect, teachers and students will no longer have access to the Google Expeditions app or the Google Tour Creator platform. This change is taking place to make the Expeditions content more accessible to everyone. The majority of existing Google Expeditions will be migrated over to the Arts & Culture app, which is a viable option for continuing to use VR in education. 


Arts & Culture is both a free site and a mobile application. It houses a vast collection of cultural artifacts and stories from all around the world, offering a new option for students to explore interactive and educational content in VR. The expansion of this app has led to the discontinuation of the Google Expeditions app as well as Tour Creator. Like we said, many of the previously existing Expeditions tours will be migrated to the Arts & Culture site. This will be the only way to access them moving forward. 


the Google Expeditions content available to educators takes students to any place in the world


For educators or students who have created and published tours on Tour Creator, specifically, they will be removed on June 30. Here are some steps for exporting and downloading Google Expeditions tours. On June 30, you also will no longer be able to download previously published tours, so, if you want to save them, you must download them before this date.


Tours already published by the Google team and other users will be viewable on the Arts & Culture app moving forward. You can find them by searching for their title. Educators should also have no issue downloading and accessing this app on personal devices or school devices. The guided tours commonly found on the Google Expeditions app will not be available on the Arts & Culture app, however. Students will be able to participate in single player tours, though. 


Once the calendar turns to June 30, the Expeditions app and Tour Creator platform will not be accessible. This is the case even if you have downloaded them before that time. Our team is actively vetting and evaluating potential replacements for the Google Expeditions system. Once we can offer a tangible replacement, we will pass that information along to our community of educators. If you have any questions about your existing Google Expeditions system, downloading assets, accessing the Arts & Culture app as an alternative, existing Google Expeditions quotes or orders, or anything else, please contact the Eduporium team.


UPDATE: We've recently selected a potential hardware alternative for Google Expeditions kits. The RobotLAB VR Expeditions 2.0 kits are now available on our store. They include VR bundles with materials for 10, 20, or 30 students as well as a similar platform that educators used with Google Expeditions. Educators can bring students on over 700 immersive Expeditions, virtual field trips, and more using the Expeditions 2.0 mobile app. Click to explore our current list of RobotLAB VR Expeditions 2.0 offerings.

Click below to contact the Eduporium team for our latest VR recommendations and to begin building a quote.

CONTACT OUR TEAM