Icons (working title)

Icons will grow over time into a virtual collection of hundreds of England's cultural icons from Stonehenge to the Angel of the North via Magna Carta and the Double-Decker Bus. Easy to navigate and with deep content from a wealth of contributing partners, Icons will represent a delightful experience for users and a creative collaboration between cultural institutions. Visitors to the virtual collection will be able to participate in a variety of engaging activities, both on- and off-line, including a vibrant education programme.

Users will be encouraged to browse and explore many different layers of content. A common 'toolkit' will give users unusual perspectives on objects - enabling them to engage with and understand the collection easily. Guest curators (e.g. celebrities, experts and the public) will provide annotated routes through the collection.

Icons can be explored from a variety of viewpoints - such as historical, scientific, sociological, artistic - and objects examined in new ways, for example 3D views, virtual magnifications, audio visual descriptions and online animations. Each object will have associated links back to the institution in which it resides and will be linked thematically to other objects in the collection. There will also be other related links - encouraging users to explore their interest and get involved locally.

The project is presently in its development phase .

Use our feedback form to tell us which icons you would like to see included.