From zoos to museums, landmarks to famous wonders of the world, with these virtual field trips for kids, your kid can explore the world right from the living room couch!
All of these virtual tours come with links so you’re just one click away from a fun, montessori-inspired Geography lesson at home.
WHY DO VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS?
As the world adapts to a new normal, many teachers and parents have found that their tried-and-tested lesson plans no longer fit an online setting.
Plus, keeping younger children and preschoolers entertained and engaged with online learning can pose a problem!
Luckily, there are many innovative ways to nurture and foster a child’s natural curiosity; virtual field trips being one of them!
The culture, the sights, the sounds, all of it encourages a child to expand their horizons and think bigger picture.
All of these virtual excursions can be turned into fun lessons, and they don’t just apply to Geography either! English, History, Social Studies, Art can all incorporate virtual field trips into their lessons.
As a former educator, one thing I do know is that kids LOVE going on field trips (even if it is from the comforts of their own home).
To expand on the learning potential of these field trips, I’ve also included a few ‘on mission’ learning activities to get those grey cells working!
I’ve made sure to cover teaching ideas for English, Art, Cookery, Science and more to inspire you.
ARE THESE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FOR KIDS FREE?
Absolutely! At the time of posting, all of these virtual field trips are free. Simply click on the links provided and they will open to a virtual tour.
100+ HIGHLY INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FOR KIDS [WITH LINKS]
You can use these as a home school activity or a stand alone educational tool.
Google Earth is also a great tool for kids to use to explore the world around them. In a couple of seconds they can be transported anywhere across the globe, like the Nevada Crop Circles or Australia’s famous Red Rock!
Google’s Art & Culture Program is another fantastic tool for kids to explore. Google’s World Wonders Project offers virtual tours of over 132 famous sites.
Everything from museums to world heritage landmarks!
You Might Also Be Interested In:
Ready to spend a little more time exploring this amazing planet we call home?
Let’s jump right in. Here are 100+ virtual field trips kids will love to explore!
VIRTUAL TOURS OF WONDERS AROUND THE WORLD
– Great Wall of China, China (This tour even plays local music to add to the atmosphere, so make sure your sound is on!)
– Palace of Versailles, France
– Mount Everest, Nepal (This involves 3D live tracking at the peak of Mount Everest!)
VIRTUAL TOURS OF ANCIENT LOST CIVILISATIONS
VIRTUAL TOURS OF NATURAL WONDERS
– Amazon Rainforest (Have a Virtual Reality Headset? This tour is made for that, but you can still explore the rainforest without it!)
– Grand Canyon, USA (There is a guided and non-guided, ‘discover by yourself’ option).
– Icelandic Lagoons and National Park, Iceland
– Jokulsarlon Glacier and Ice Lagoon, Iceland (This tour also plays music!)
– Great Barrier Reef (David Attenborough guides this highly interactive tour! It’s full of videos and guided exploration so your child can really feel like an explorer!)
– Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), Alaska (From dog sledding to reindeer sledding to staying at an ice hotel, watch the Nothern Lights glitter in the night sky!)
– Devil’s Pool, Victoria Falls
VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE PLACES TO VISIT (OFF-LIMITS)
These are probably our favorite list of virtual tours to include.
There’s something mysterious and fascinating about taking a peek inside places we shouldn’t be, or have virtually no chance of seeing ourselves!
– Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway (This is a super interactive and fun tour to take! A lady narrates and talks about the vault whilst you ‘walk’ through it. Highly recommend).
VIRTUAL TOURS OF US LANDMARKS
These virtual field trips are perfect for national or US history homeschool lessons.
Take a stroll through Yellow Stone National Park, or hike through Monument Valley to discover the natural geological beauty the US has to offer.
– Hidden World of National Parks
– Yosemite National Park (Highly interactive and fun tour to take!)
VIRTUAL TOURS OF SPACE
Have a budding astronomer on your hands? Kids will love these outer space virtual field tours.
Dive into the unknown world beyond our own and help kids gain a broader understanding of our beautiful solar system.
– The Moon
– Mars
– The Sun
WILD ANIMAL AND ZOO VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FOR KIDS
– Reid Park Zoo, AZ (Multiple animal webcams.)
– Reid Park Zoo, Meet the Animals Fact Sheets
– Houston Zoo, Animal Webcams
– Cincinnati Zoo, Home Safari Resources
If your child doesn’t like animal captivity or you don’t want to support it, here are a few ideas for watching animals live in the wild.
These change often so be sure to check out the Youtube channels below!
– Live Bear Watching Webcam, Transylvania
– Decorah Eagles Nest Cam, Iowa
– Grace Gorillas Forest Cam, Africa
For more live webcams of animals in the wild, check out Explore Africa and Explore Live Nature Cams; both of which are popular Youtube Channels.
VIRTUAL TOURS OF US HISTORY
VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOURS FOR KIDS
– Pretend City, Children’s Museum. This museum does what it says on the tin; it’s a pretend model city for children to visit.
– British Science Museum. A full 360 experience! Lots of things to see and do in this virtual trip!
– Franklin Institute. A 360 experience with videos throughout.
– George Washington’s Mount Vernon
UNDER THE SEA VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS
As an ocean activist and education presenter, I LOVE anything to do with the ocean.
Given its importance in the world’s ecosystems, I figured it deserved a special place of its own.
Children of all ages will love diving with the turtles, exploring shipwrecks and even swimming with sharks!
– Dive with Turtles. 360 experience.
– Watch Baby Turtles Hatch (Youtube)
– Swim With Dolphins. 360 experience.
– Explore Underwater Shipwreck in Bermuda (Youtube)
– Scuba Dive in a Coral Reef (Youtube)
– Great Hammerhead Shark Encounter (Youtube)
– Dive with Sharks (Youtube)
– Blue Whale Encounter (Youtube)
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FOR PRESCHOOL
All of these virtual field trips can be viewed by preschoolers and toddlers, but for younger or lower-level students, it’ll be more about understanding what they’re seeing, rather than exploring locations in detail.
For example, you’ll want to make sure they understand what a ‘museum’ is, what you can find in a museum and their favorite finds during the virtual field trip.
– Pretend City, Children’s Museum. You can use this virtual trip for teaching directions, signs (lots of stop signs), names of buildings in a town, colors and measurements.
– LEGO House Tour (Youtube Video) Older preschoolers can listen to the Lego tour guide, whilst younger children can learn about colors, sizes, numbers, basic vocabulary etc.
– Slime in Space! 15 minute field trip to the Space Station with a science experiment all about slime!
– Dinosaur Discovery (Youtube). All of Caitie’s videos are perfect for preschool home learning.
ON MISSION VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP LEARNING ACTIVITIES FROM HOME
Once you’re back from your fascinating tour, why not try…
1. Drawing a picture of your favorite landmark or sight.
2. Coloring in your favorite art piece from a museum. This website lets you download coloring pages from over 100 museums around the world!
3. Creating a fact journal about what you learned during the trip.
4. Creating a quick presentation about the things you learnt and found fascinating.
5. Scouting an encyclopaedia or book to dig even deeper into your chosen location.
6. Finding an online quiz and test your sleuthing skills. See how much you can remember!
7. Cooking a yummy dish from that local region!
8. Creating a craft that represents the area you visited.
9. Counting how many animals you saw at the museums!
10. Describing what animals you found at the museums!
Which virtual field trip are you thinking of taking? There are just so many to choose from!
I personally love the ancient lost civilizations and impossible off-limit tours.
There’s just something so fascinating about secretive and distant places.
they are the best
Thanks for a fabulous post filled with great links! I added it to my Pinterest School Tools board. Love your site!
You have just made my day if not my whole year! Thank you so very much for compiling this list. You are making my life easier, my child’s life more exciting and that ust makesme smile! Wishing you many blessings, Lexi (South Africa)