Unlike traditional field trips that are restricted to certain locations, virtual field trips provide an opportunity for students to travel all around the world. They could visit museums in Paris, farms all over the country, or even the White House itself! Many virtual field trips are also available anytime and anywhere so you can pull them up whenever desired. However, it’s often fun to contact the location of choice and ask for guided, educational tours to really make the experience feel like a traditional field trip! That being said, let’s get into the top 10 amazing virtual field trip ideas for schools and students!
A Field Tip to a Farm
Taking kids to a local farm is always a blast, but did you know that there are many farms that actually offer virtual field trips? The way this typically works is you schedule a time for a video call that you can put on the big screen for your class. Someone from the farm then takes you around, but virtually! You get to learn everything that they’d share with you during an in-person tour, but nobody has to leave the classroom. It’s ideal for rainy days or kids with high allergies, or even just for classes that may not have the funding or accessibility to get to a farm. Some popular virtual farm field trips include Dairy Alliance and Stonyfield Organic, but look out for Farm Food 360 as well!
A Field Tip to The Louvre
The Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world. The Louvre has been a part of Paris since 1793, and it was one of many buildings created to commemorate the French Revolution. It is a vast museum with over 35,000 works of art and it's not just paintings that are on display. The Louvre also houses sculptures, drawings and other items such as jewelry.
Now, we’re sure you didn’t miss the whole, “located in Paris” part, but don’t worry, you don’t need to book a plane ticket to check it out! The museum hosts virtual tours that allow you to explore all that this museum has to offer without ever having to leave your chair. There’s even a kid-friendly tour that only displays child-friendly works of art and history teachings.
A Field Tip to the Museum of the American Revolution
The Museum of the American Revolution is one of the most fascinating virtual field trip ideas for kids from second grade through eight grade. Know as Beyond the Battlefield, it’s a great alternative web-based learning experience for students. You'll get to see close up what it's like on an archeological dig and chat live with experts! To make it even more educational, there is a vocabulary list offered by grade level along with several discussion points to keep kids entertained and curious!
A Field Tip to Ellis Island
Ellis Island was the gateway to America. It served as a processing station for immigrants arriving in the United States from Europe between 1892 and 1954. It’s located in New York and typically, the only way to get there is by ferry boat, unless of course you take part in their virtual tour!
Using the interactive tour of Ellis Island, students can explore different spaces and listen to stories from long ago. You can find information describing periods throughout the island's history, as well as audio clips, videos and other multimedia materials. Their interactive map lets you get a closer look at immigration data, while short movies tell the inspiring true stories of people who came to America and try to explain what life was like for them.
A Field Tip to Nasa at Home
One of the more science-based virtual field trip ideas is Nasa at Home. NASA is in charge of more than 100,000 square feet of buildings, laboratories and flight research aircraft. And yet, NASA's resources are not able to reach students who want to learn more about the center.
This is where virtual reality comes in. NASA has partnered with Google to create a virtual field trip app that students can use on their iPads or Android tablets. The app gives them an immersive experience in the facility. Students can explore the different parts of Johnson Space Center, speak with astronauts and engineers and even take control of a space shuttle flight simulator!
A Field Tip to Mars! No, Really!
While we’re on the subject of NASA, why not take your kids to space for a day? Check out the red planet itself! You can visit Mars with Access Mars, where you can see what the surface of Mars looks like from various angles. You’ll “walk around” the planet, checking out all the craters, vast desert landscape, and rigid formations in the distance. Let us know if you find any water because thus far, it’s sparse!
A Field Tip to The White House
That’s right, the White House itself offers a virtual tour for educational institutions and for various age groups. The guided tour takes you down the maze of hallways and into the many open rooms where the President hosts meetings and press releases. You’ll get to see the artifacts that have been there for decades and a peek at what goes on in one of the most important and impressive buildings ever created.
A Field Tip to Practically Any Volcano in Existence
Why show your students photos of volcanoes when you can show them live feeds and interactive maps of over 169 active volcanoes all over the world? You can make a whole class out of this by pulling up the live feeds of these lava filled mountains and show students what a volcano looks like in real time. Kids of all ages are always fascinated by this and it’s a great way to discuss geology without having to you know…actually go to a volcano.
A Field Tip to Slime in Space
Weird? Yes, but is it enticing for kids? Also yes! Slime in Space is hosted by Nickelodeon and is a unique, 15-minute virtual field trip idea that combines silly, messy, and educational. Nickelodeon parented with NASA scientists to show kids how slime and water would act in zero gravity, aka, space! Kids will get to learn about space and physics all while watching astronauts basically make one big mess!
Read more : 5 additional fun field trip ideas.
A Field Tip to The Boston Children’s Museum
It wouldn’t be a virtual field trip blog if we didn’t include at least one kid-focused, interactive museum. The whole point of virtual field trips is to not only be entertaining, but to make kids feel as though they are actually at the exhibit. Boston Children’s Museum does a phenomenal job at doing just that! Their virtual tour will take students through the Jurassic era, show them live science experiments, and tells children all about what they offer!
Conclusion
So, where are you taking your kids first! Paris? Boston? Mars? There are so many virtual field trip ideas out there if you just give a quick look, but these are by far the most enticing. Who doesn’t want to watch astronauts make a slimy mess or check out where the President works? Wherever you go, remember to have fun, interact with your guide, and enjoy the free travel fair!
