Virtual field trips are a great way to expose kids to new places all from the comfort of home. In this age of technology, so many museums, zoos and aquariums have set up virtual tours and webcams of their facilities. Now more than ever, is it easier to visit destinations around the world from the comfort of your couch.
In light of recent events, families are finding themselves in the position of not only being at home with their children for an extended period of time, but educating them as well. Unlike a school vacation, places like zoos, aquariums and museums are closed in an effort to keep people from congregating. Travel is also on hold. Virtual field trips are a fun and educational way to visit places virtually and keep “travel” going.
I’ve rounded up 20 virtual field trips that you can take with your kids. There are also lesson ideas, activities and book suggestions to extend the learning for each type of destination.
Art Museums
Visit some of the best art galleries in the world virtually. From Paris to New York to Amsterdam, kids can see priceless works of art from the world’s most famous artists.
- Louvre Museum, Paris https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
- National Gallery of Art, Washington DC https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-gallery-of-art-washington-dc?hl=en
- Metropolitan Museum of Art https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-metropolitan-museum-of-art
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/van-gogh-museum?hl=en
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence Italy https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/uffizi-gallery?hl=en
Activities and Resources
- Choose a favorite painting or sculpture and create a copycat piece of art.
- Research an artist. This is a great book about some amazing artists kids should know about https://amzn.to/38QWQGf (affiliate link).
- Choose a piece of art to focus on. Describe it, tell why you chose it and how it makes you feel.
- Choose 2 works of art to compare.
Zoos
Zoo webcams have allowed visitors to drop in on the habitats of some of the zoo’s favorite animal exhibits. Here are some highlights. Want more? Here is our complete list of virtual zoo field trips.
- San Diego Zoo https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/videos
- Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam https://youtu.be/_6wbfVWVk8Q
- Smithsonian’s National Zoo https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams
- Reid Park Zoo Lion Cam in Tuscon, AZ http://reidparkzoo.org/cameras/lion-cam/
- Ouwehand Park Polar Bear Cubs Rhenen, Netherland https://explore.org/livecams/polar-bears/polar-bear-ouwehand-twin-cubs-cam-2
Activities and Resources
- Take a Virtual Field Trip Lesson Plan
- Zoo Field Trip Worksheet Freebie
- Do more research on your favorite animal and make a guide.
- Research the habitat of your favorite animal. Use at home materials to create a miniature habitat.
Aquariums
Just like with zoos, aquariums have used webcams to let you visit their exhibits virtually. In addition, some aquariums have set up virtual tours led by their staff to give visitors a more in depth look at their facility.
- Monterey Bay Aquarium https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-exhibits/live-web-cams
- Georgia Aquarium https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/
- National Aquarium Virtual Tour http://samuraivirtualtours.com/example/nadc/index.html
- Virtual Tour of the Seattle Aquarium
Activities and Resources
- Take a Virtual Field Trip Lesson Plan
- Aquarium Field Trip Worksheet Freebie
- Research your favorite sea animal and make a presentation.
- Watch Finding Nemo or Finding Dory. Identify the types of sea creatures in the movie.
- Watch Disneynature’s Oceans
Travel the World
In this day and age, it is easier than ever to travel the world without leaving home.
- Google Maps street view will allow you to visit almost any destination around the world. Check out this view from Pompei.
- Visit the Great Wall of China https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china
- Virtually discover Yellowstone National Park https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm
- Tour England through this 360 video.
- Take a live look at Colonial Williamsburg.
- Go on a virtual field trip to Ellis Island.
Activities and Resources
- Plan a trip to a new destination. What would you do, see, eat?
- Make a travel brochure for the destination you visited.
- Write a postcard from that destination. Include details about the place and what you can see there.
Thank you for providing such amazing learning experiences!
I like virt feild tripsal
Thank you, I will incorp. This with our 20 day lesson plan at home. Day 1 is on Spiders so our 1st tour will be the zoo for sure. Thanks
I hope you guys can add music, as that’s apart of there plan.
Scholastic at home has a great planned out 20 day learn from home schedule. It’s fun and educational.
Very interesting virtual field trip
This is awesome, thank you so much!
Thank you! I’m trying to keep a bunch of resources together for my students, friends, and family. I will be linking to your site from mine! Thanks!
https://tryingtoraisesaints.wixsite.com/tryingtoraisesaints
It’s very interesting virtual fild trips
Here you can visit the art history museum of Vienna:
https://www.3dscans.at/kunsthistorischesmuseum/
I am out of school for the next 3 weeks minimum, and it was really helped me to know that although I can;t go to any public places, I can still see some of them in these wonderful virtual field trips. Thanks so much for all you do for the community affected by the coronavirus.
is there a science museum.
I work with seniors. This is perfect for entertaining them while we limit interactive activities.
Glasgow Science Museum has lots of demos and experiments to try at home. All on youtube
Thanks for the great list of places to visit from home. We have been doing several of the zoo virtual field trips and really enjoying them.
Thank you so much i’m actually a student at independence middle school all things you guys do helps me really understand a lot a about virtual field trips and it inspires me to do the stuff you guys do plus i’m going to high school next year i really appreciate you guys for all you do.
I find it unusual that simple standstill webcams are added when this YouTube channel takes you to the zoo as if you’re there. Narration included – discussing personal zoo history, exhibit dimensions, and educational facts about the animals themselves: https: //www.youtube.com/channel/UC4JrYvfxstuXjsmR1pa9h8A
It’a not unusual at all when you consider that these virtual field trips are about students making their own observations. While they may lack the pizzazz of a produced video like the ones on your channel, teachers and parents can more easily adapt the static camera to lessons and activities.
Tһank you for sharing ｙour info. I tгuly appreciate your efforts ɑand I
ɑm waiting for yoսr next ᴡrite upѕ thank yyou once again.
I loved this tour it showed us cool stuff
i like all sea world and disneyland time
It was helpful. Keep on posting!
I would go there
My favorite is Disney
yay i love this.
I think this website is pretty cool
Thanks for sharing this helpful information. I
keep your love of travel alive without leaving the house during this time, Travel and explore virtual tours from the comfort of your home and immerse yourself in the scenic beauty of the Irish landscape with Trek Ireland.
Hi, I recently found a very interesting site Australia and New Zealand webcams.
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Extremely helpful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such info a lot. I was seeking this certain information for a long time. Thank you and good luck.
Hey! I simply want to give an enormous thumbs up for the good information you’ve gotten right here on this post. I might be coming back to your weblog for more soon.
nice