Perfect for a rainy day, a sick day, or just an opportunity to travel the world without leaving your chair, interactive virtual field trips provide a fun experience for all ages. You can see the Great Wall of China, browse the Vatican, or check-in at your neighborhood zoo, without even going outside.
There are virtual tours for students of all ages, and they work well in many environments. They’re great if you’re a teacher looking to expand your students’ horizons from the classroom. And they work perfectly for a parent wanting some educational stimulation whether you and the kids are stuck at home or you want to include them as part of your homeschooling lessons.
Below, I’ve listed some of the best places to go for an informative online experience.
How Do Online Field Trips Work?
A virtual field trip allows students to visit a place and learn about how things work without leaving their classroom or home. Digital tours are done online, through pre-recorded, live-stream, and interactive 360° videos.
These online adventures allow kids to learn about the world around them in a visual and interactive way, without needing to travel.
Some of these online field trips are done by inspired individuals, such as a dairy farmer taking you through his farm. While others are created by dedicated educational institutions.
Paid vs Free Field Trips
Thanks to the extensive online world, many online tours are offered for free. These can mostly be found on YouTube, but there are also online institutions and schools that provide these at no cost. Free virtual tours mean that anyone with access to the internet can enjoy them.
There are also websites that require you to sign up and pay before you can access their virtual tours. Other websites just require you to sign up for a membership, no payment necessary. Paid memberships may offer more exclusive features, like downloadable resources, quizzes, and live guides on your field trips.
Fun Virtual Field Trips For Kindergarten Kids
Take a virtual trip to the moon! This site offers activities and craft ideas, as well as a video of a trip to the moon for little ones to watch and blast off in their imaginations.
You’ll find a treasure trove of digital trips and tours on Kidvision Pre K’s website and YouTube channel. These are videos with kids in them, so you can simply join in on all the fun. There are trips to farms, a fire station, and even a chocolate factory (yum!).
Engaging Virtual Field Trips For Elementary Students
The VirtualFieldTripsnet YouTube channel is full of videos for school kids. They range from grades K to12 but offer some fascinating content for elementary grades. Their website also has paid membership options, which includes access to quizzes and other resources.
If you’re learning about U.S. history and Presidents, or just interested in seeing where the President lives, an online tour of the White House is ideal. Google Maps offers a 360° tour that gives an inside look into the famous house.
Discovery Education virtual field trips are great for kids of all ages but most ideal for elementary grades. They have live virtual field trips, as well as recordings of previous ones. The videos feature guides who explain everything and take you on a virtual learning journey. Additionally, there are extra resources and learning guides to go with them.
More Educational Virtual Field Trips
These virtual tours are both fun and educational. They can be done according to subject, interests, or just for fun, at a moment’s notice.
See the World & Its Most Iconic Sites
You can find 360° videos, photos, and time lapses on Airpano. These are created globally and offer tours and trips around the world. Some have a narrative, while others are just visual.
Step inside Buckingham Palace and see life from a royal point of view. The 360° tours are of the Grand Staircase, the White Drawing Room, and even the Throne Room.
If you’ve ever wanted to see the Taj Mahal, but haven’t made it to India yet, you can take advantage of the online virtual tour and see the impressive mausoleum for yourself.
There’s an online 360° view from the top of the Empire State Building, where you’ll get to experience the New York City skyline. Try clicking on the interactive hotspots in the picture to learn more about the city’s top attractions.
See George Washington’s Mount Vernon in an interactive digital tour. You can choose where on the image to go and there are hotspots that offer more information about important features of the house and surroundings.
The virtual tour of the Boston Children’s Museum offers a 360° interactive look at the museum and all of its exhibits.
Explore Art and Culture
Google Arts and Culture offers a variety of 360° virtual tours around the world. Stand atop the Christ The Redeemer statue or take a trip to Antarctica! The tech giant has an extensive library of content, and they’re offering it for all to enjoy.
Step into a virtual version of the Louvre in Paris and discover many of the famous exhibits and galleries. These interactive tours allow you to explore each room in a 360° high-quality video tour.
Step inside the National Museum of History in Washington, and all of its exhibits on your phone or laptop. You can also set up a VR headset and explore the museum virtually.
You can take a completely online trip to Museo Galileo in Florence. The website contains videos with audio that explore the different rooms and exhibitions in the museum.
The Vatican also offers 360° tours of its magnificent halls and museums. You can discover some of the world’s most prized artworks from the comfort of your home.
For older kids, especially musical children, this virtual tour through the Birthplaces of Music will engage and delight. Made up of photos, videos, and an interactive map, the tour takes you through Vienna, New Orleans, Cleveland, and Bristol.
Learn Social Studies
Visit Norway, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico all in one day with 360Cities. These are an interactive variation of a 360° tour and video. You’ll be taken through various landscapes and attractions, with the ability to view the entire area by moving the view in the video.
Enjoy a 360° virtual look at the Great Wall of China. The interactive map shows off the stunning views and offers a unique look at one of the world’s greatest landmarks.
Take a walk through Finnish forests and explore the species of birds, insects, and plants that live there. There is a selection of paths to take, and each one is a video walkthrough of the forest, accompanied by the soundtrack of birds and nature. You’ll also see pop-ups on the screen of birds, butterflies, and other forest creatures in the virtual environment.
If you’ve ever wondered about how eggs get from the farm to your table, take a virtual egg tour from the American Egg Board. There are different options depending on age, grade, and more.
Immerse yourself into Canada’s farming industry with a list of virtual farm tours. From sheep farms to grain and dairy farms, these videos offer deep insight into the lives of the farmers and their farms.
Visit one of America’s most fascinating national parks, Yellowstone. These virtual tours show different parts of the park as you take a walk with the person behind the camera. There is no talking, so all you hear is footsteps and the abundance of nature in the park.
Discover more national parks in the U.S. and take virtual tours of places like Hot Springs, Crater Lake, and more.
Take a digital trip to Ancient Egypt and learn all about the pyramids, Pharaohs, and Hieroglyphics. Complete with a 3D interactive map of the temples, and plenty of interesting content around the pyramids, you’ll feel like you’re really there.
Thanks to National Geographic, you can visit the world’s largest cave, Son Doong in Vietnam. Go on an interactive 360° walk through the Garden of Edam and into the cave.
Dive into the Great Lakes virtual field trips, free of charge, and extremely educational. You’ll learn all about coastal wetlands, algae, and Lake Sturgeon.
You can sign up for an age-appropriate digital field trip at Longwood Gardens, which offers lessons about plants and gardens for all grades. You’ll have to book these in advance and note the age and grade of those participating.
Visit a Zoo
Sneak a peek at the animals in the San Diego Zoo and create your own virtual tour using their live webcams.
You can check out the live cams at Houston Zoo, too, and watch what each animal is getting up to.
Atlanta Zoo offers virtual events, like Endangered Species Day which comes with a list of activities to complete at home. They also have their Panda Cam which allows you to watch the pandas in their habitat while you’re at home or school.
Head to Dublin Zoo and watch the webcams of the elephant and penguin habitats, or check out the African savanna enclosure.
The Edinburgh Zoo also has webcams in many of its animal enclosures. So you can visit the pandas, lions, or penguins – among others from anywhere in the world.
If you’re in the mood for an Asian adventure, then check out the Panda cam at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. You can watch the Giant Pandas play, sleep, eat, and just be cute.
Under the Sea Adventures
Watch the live cams at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where you can see the jellyfish, otters, sharks, and more of their underwater residents.
Why not watch what the sealife is up to at the Georgia Aquarium? You can watch sea otters, piranhas, and a bunch of other captivating creatures enjoying their habitats on the webcams.
You can also go on a virtual field trip to Seattle Aquarium and learn all about the animals that live there and the humans taking care of them.
Take an immersive 360° tour of the National Aquarium. This exclusive trip will feel like you have VIP access to the Aquarium after hours!
The Maritime Aquarium also offers virtual programs for kids and their parents. You can sign up for these according to your kids’ age.
Go on a Safari
Book a free virtual live safari session on WildEarth, where kids can experience a trip out into the African bush and see the many wild animals that roam the land. There are also extra resources for kids to enjoy with the safari video.
Discover what a safari in Kenya and Tanzania would be like with these 360° tours of life around the African camps at Asilia Africa. See lions, monkeys, and herds of elephants, and view the gorgeous African landscapes as well.
Travel into Space
Future astronauts will be mind-blown by this virtual tour of Mars! Learn more about how humans are studying the red planet, and take a 360° trip across the barren lands.
Enjoy a virtual planetarium experience with Stellarium Web. Your screen will turn into a night’s sky and you can learn all about the stars and constellations. There’s even an app you can use on your mobile phone.
Tune into a field trip you can only take online, and let the crew on the ISS show you around and tell what it’s like to be on the space station. There are a few video tours you can choose from, or make some popcorn and watch them all.
Head Off On A Virtual Field Trip
Field trips are exciting, educational adventures that add immense value to learning.
There are tons of free virtual field trips that you can take online with your whole family. These digital journeys offer a fun learning experience for kids of all ages. And they’re a great way to see and experience the world from the comfort of home!
Where would you like to take a virtual field trip?
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