Over 20 Virtual Field Trips to Do With Your Kids

The school year is almost over, and it’s the perfect time for field trips! During the pandemic, though, we will all be doing virtual field trips. Here are some great options for virtual field trips to take online with your kids.

Virtual Field Trips for Viewing the Outdoors Indoors:

1. Virtual Safaris

• Wild Earth takes you on African safaris live on Facebook. You can even ask your guide questions via the comments section!
• Explore.org has short live videos frequently of such in-detail happenings as a bald eagle feeding its young, gorilla close-ups, etc.

2. Zoos

Many zoos feature live cams, especially on popular exhibits, which you can view on their websites. Some of the most enjoyable ones we have viewed:

• San Diego Zoo

My little boy was disappointed by the non-appearance of the giraffes on the giraffe cam, but the ape cam was a little more exciting. Watching the babies crawl over their swinging mamas is pretty entertaining.

• Pittsburgh Zoo (Penguin and Cheetah live cams!)
• Houston Zoo

Check out many of the exhibits, including flamingos, rhinos (they’re probably just resting in the mud), and the giraffe feeding station. (Get in line virtually to control the view from the webcam.)

• Smithsonian National Zoo

The Smithsonian even provides learning packets to do with your kids while watching the 4 live cams. (Grades K-5)

If you’re looking for live cams of a particular animal your child is studying, check out Earth Cams, which has a huge collection of live cams from zoos all over the world. (I’m not sure why snowmen in Michigan are included, but it’s a funny addition!)

3. Meet the Animals!

Little Rock Zoo has a meet-this-animal show live on Facebook at 2 PM daily for the time.

(Activity sheets: https://www.littlerockzoo.com/events/around-the-world-safari-virtual-spring-break-2020/)

4. Aquarium Live Cams

   Monterey Bay Aquarium

   Check out the kelp forest exhibit—the music played as you watch the fish makes it a mesmerizing experience for both you and the kids!

   National Aquarium

   Look for blacktip reef sharks!

   Seattle Aquarium

   The harbor seals here are awfully cute! If you don’t see them at first, just check a different cam and come back in a few minutes.

5. Nature Lab

   Nature.org

   Visit a coral reef and then get ideas from the downloadable lesson plans. Older children will get more from these videos, although young kids may enjoy the non-interview portions with divers jumping off boats and exploring underwater, or watching orangatans in the trees of Borneo.

6. World’s Largest Cave

   National Geographic has a 360 degree tour of the jungle leading to the world’s largest cave (in Vietnam), complete with jungle noises and the sounds of water dripping inside the cave. Forget about this trip being for the kids; I was enthralled by this virtual field trip!
   

7. National Geographic Kids

   If your child is in love with animals, you can take them on a fact finding expedition. (Tiger fun facts here!)

8. Access Mars

   We might as well go to space while we are practicing social distancing, right? Click on the “Enter 360,” enjoy the illustrations in the intro, and drive over the red planet for a few minutes. (The black and white squares were filmed with the older, lower resolution film.)

9. Stand on the Great Wall of China

   I thought this virtual field trip was amazing; young children will wonder where the animals are and why it isn’t moving quickly enough as you virtually stroll down the famous Great Wall. A better choice for older kids.

10. Live Cams – Transportation

    Watch giant freighters sail into the Duluth Harbor and hear them honk (my preschooler loved this!). Or view airplanes landing in airports all around the world. (Here’s the link to the Atlanta airport live cam.) Your child loves trains? Watch busy railroad depots! (Some of the rail cams even include audio, which makes it much more interesting for everyone. This live feed from Barstow, CA is one example.)

11. Explore a Salt Mine in PolandZoom through an amazing salt mine in Poland, which includes a beautiful Catholic chapel that has sculptures cut directly into the salt-streaked wall. Music and pop-up messages that act as your virtual tour guide make this a fun visit.

 

Virtual Field Trips for Exploring History, Art, and Culture

 

1. Ancient Egypt

   Check out photos of ancient Egyptian temples, etc. at Discovering Ancient Egypt. Or see a 360 degree photo of Ramses’s burial chamber.

2. Google Arts and Culture

   What an amazing collection! You can take a virtual tour of the White House, explore the marvels of France, wander around the giant stone heads on Easter Island, or check out the view from the top of the Taj Mahal. This site is a virtual rabbit hole, and the possibilities seem endless.

3. The Louvre

   Some of the virtual tours of the Louvre available include one of Egyptian antiquities.

4. Smithsonian Museums

   

   Museum of Natural History

   The Smithsonian family of museums allow you to take virtual field trips inside places you might never get a chance to visit personally. You can watch the live cam in a space hangar, “walk” inside the museum of natural history,  or explore American art.

5. 360 Degree Video

   Travel virtually to the streets of Havana, the ancient ruins of Llanthony Priory in Wales, Trajan’s Forum in Rome, and many other places via the 360 degree website.

6. Panoramas of the World

   Beautiful panoramas organized on a map of the world.

7. Worldwide Panoramas

   Walk into an art museum in Rome, find yourself in the middle of Medillín, Colombia, stand by a waterfall in Switzerland, or stand at an overlook in New Zealand. This website is a fun virtual travel experience for older children, while younger children will want to return to the virtual safaris.

 

Enjoy these virtual field trips with your kids–or by yourself on a rainy day!