Virtual Tour
If you can’t visit the museum in person, the next best thing is a virtual tour.
Our virtual tour is interactive. As you walk around the virtual museum grounds, look for the silver badges.
They provide information about displays to assist you in understanding the museum, Olaf Wieghorst and his art.
Buildings and Grounds
The main museum building houses the Forward Gallery, the Main Gallery and Olaf’s Gift Shop. Inside you will meet Olaf Wieghorst, learn about his life and view some of the best of Olaf’s work.
Olaf’s House was moved to museum grounds in 1999. Now fully restored you can see where the famous artist lived with his wife and son between 1947 and 1958.The house is a local historic resource.
Surrounding Olaf’s House is the Museum’s Southwest Cactus and Succulent Garden. The garden contains over 200 species of plants gathered from around the world. It is curated by Mike Bostwick, the former horticultural director of the San Diego Zoo.
At the far end of the museum grounds is the Mural Wall. The 28 foot tall reproduction of Olaf’s painting, “Navajos at Castle Creek,” takes you to the rugged, picturesque country Olaf loved.
Navigating Around the Virtual Tour
Moving from place to place in the 360° virtual tour is easy. Click on the arrows to advance to the next space on the tour. Use your mouse to rotate the view or scroll to zoom in or zoom out.
On the right side of the screen are the tour controls. You can turn the background music on or off. You can toggle the view to full screen. And if you want to immerse yourself in virtual reality, put on your VR glasses and toggle the VR switch.
The small chevron at the bottom of the screen allows you to jump from room to room without taking the walking path.