Virtual Cooperstown Tour: Worth It?

I’ve never been to Cooperstown, but thanks to the Google Cultural Institute, I’m able to check out a virtual version of it. Now, as a baseball fan, of course I’ve got Cooperstown on my eternal baseball bucket list, but a virtual tour? How could it possibly hurt my desire to visit the place itself?

The screen starts off simply enough. A little too simple, maybe. You have three categories on the first page: Exhibits, Street View, and Items. Exhibits show you a slideshow of photographs featuring Osvaldo Salas’ work. The exhibit itself is fascinating, showing a side of baseball from a time when minorities began to be included in the game after Jackie Robinson’s debut. There’s an atmosphere that’s lost when looking at it on a laptop, though — I don’t think you would get the full effect of the exhibit from looking at it on a computer screen.

Street View is a bit more interesting. It’s Google Maps Street View, except you can go inside a building — which is neat! Because who doesn’t want want to use Street View inside a building? There’s a floor map alongside the Street View, so you have an idea of where certain items are in the building. Because of Street View, it’s kind of (very) awkward to see every item on the walls, so keep that in mind if you’re looking at the exhibits. It’s not the best view of the exhibits, either.

Items leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a collection of photos on the main page of the Cooperstown Google Cultural Institute and that’s basically it. You could just Google images of your favorite ballplayers from the past and it would have the same effect.

All in all, I don’t think this is something to take time out of your day to check out. If you feel like it, of course, go and give it a look. It’s a good way to figure out which parts of Cooperstown you want to check out when you’re actually there, but don’t let it be a replacement for going to the actual thing.