25+ Virtual Field Trips for an Awesome At-Home Adventure

Virtual Field Trips Make For An Awesome At-Home Adventure

There are many reasons to consider a virtual field trip. From health to scheduling conflicts to geographical convenience, virtual field trips are a great way to explore the world around you, without leaving the comfort of your home.

But sometimes researching the best virtual field trip ideas takes more time than enjoying the actual field trip. That’s why I’ve done the leg-work for you and compiled a list of the best virtual field trips the internet has to offer.

Enjoy, and happy adventuring!

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Free Virtual Field Trips

As of 04/23/2020, the following is a list of free virtual field trips. I am not responsibile for price changes or accessibility changes.

Virtual Zoo Field Trips

Virtual Zoo tours have become some of the most popular virtual field trips available. There’s just something about kids and animals that screams fun! Thanks Google for this awesome list of online resources for visiting zoos.

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo is one of the most popular zos in the United States, and for good reason! Have you ever been here? It is truly an amazing zoo.

You can explore the expansive San Diego Zoo website and learn about all the different animals they host, or you can hop on a recorded video and watch your favorite critters. The panda cam is particularly adorable.

The zoo even offers ideas for learning activities and games, such as arts and crafts. You really should check this online resource out if you have any animal lovers whatsoever in your home.

Smithsonian National Zoo

The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C. is currently offering live stream webcams of a couple of their animal exhibits. They have the ever-popular panda cam so visitors can get a view of these cuddly creatures. They also have an incredibly adorable cheetah cub cam that you just have to see.

Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo has a couple of live webcams for vistors who want to enjoy a virtual field trip.

Keep in mind they, like many other animal live streams on this list, only operate cameras from 7am to 7pm, so if you are trying to view these animals outside of those hours, you’ll have little luck. (I am embarrassed to say it took me quite a while to figure out that this is why I couldn’t get the webcams to work.)

Elmwood Park Zoo

The Elmwood Park Zoo has jumped on the virtual field trips bandwagon with two live stream webcams. You can watch the Eagle Cam or the Giraffe Cam from the comfort of your own home. The cameras are able to be controlled with your mouse, which makes this online adventure even more fun.

More Virtual Zoos

If you want to check out an even more extensive list of zoos with live stream webcams check out zoocamerasaroundtheworld.com or adventuresinfamilyhood.com. Zoo Atlanta is a popular choice, and the polar bears at the Alaska Zoo are worth a watch.

Or check out the YouTube channel Zoo Tours for even more options, including this gem!

Virtual Aquarium Field Trips

Personally, I’d rather visit an aquarium than just about any other place on Earth. I am just so fascinated by marine life and aquatic animals. I searched Google and these are the aquariums I found that are offering online aquatic adventures.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Take a virtual tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California (the one from Finding Dory). The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the most popular aquariums in the world, and a virtual tour is almost as good as the real thing.

Get a real-life view of the animals with the webcams and bring a fun aquatic adventure into your home.

Georgia Aquarium

On the other side of the United States, the Georgia Aquarium is also inviting virtual visitors to enjoy their aquatic wildlife. Their online offerings are not as big as other virtual adventures, but they’ve got some unique exhibits. My favorite was the African Penguin webcam. Those little guys are so cute!

Note that these recordings don’t seem to be real-time, but they’re still a lot of fun.

National Aquarium

Perhaps my favorite aquarium on this list, the National Aquarium has a very cool setup for virtual visitors.

Instead of just watching webcams, you can take a 3D virtual tour by dragging your mouse along the screen and getting a real-world view of each exhibit and scene. Each scene has exhibits that are complete with little (i) symbols that you can click on to learn more. Some rooms, such as the Pacific Coral Reefs exhibit even include virtual rooms! It’s like you’re really there!

I definitely recommend you check out the National Aquarium’s virtual field tours.

Seattle Aquarium

Last but certainly not least, the Seattle Aquarium is hosting live stream tours (that are then recorded for later) on YouTube so follow their YouTube channel to get more gems like this!

Shedd Sea Curious Playlist

YouTube has become a great online resource for free learning activities. One of those resources is the Sea Curious playlist put on by Shedd. Each video on this playlist is about three minutes long and answers questions about aquatic animals. They’resuper cute!

Here’s just one example.

I’m so grateful so many venues are offering accessible learning activities for our kids!

Virtual National Park Field Trips

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is my favorite of all the National Parks I’ve been to. I’m just really into wild animal life. What can I say?

And there is so much variety in this park, too! Did you know there are hot springs, and pseudo Grand Canyons in addition to the animals and the famous geysers? There’s even a mud volcano. And you can explore all of it virtually.

Grand Canyon National Park

Or you could visit the real Grand Canyon National Park through your computer! This is a beautiful park you can visit virtually – when their cameras are working.

If you like visiting National Parks virtually, you should check out this post on how to get free National Park tickets for your students. They’ll be handy when you are ready to make your next in-person visit.

More National Parks

There are so many National Parks offering virtual field trips that it would be impossible for me to list them all here. You can see all the national parks by going to Google’s arts and culture website. You can see a trailer introducing this fun website below.

Virtual Museum Field Trips

There are so many virtual museum field trips available right now, it was impossible for me to add them all. But I found a couple of the best options and am sharing them with you here.

And if you need ideas for how to use museums in your homeschool, Shannan from Captivating Compass has got you covered.

The Louvre

The Louvre in Paris is one of the most popular art museums in the world. Currently, they are offering virtual tours of some of their most popular exhibits. Introduce your kids to a little bit of art culture when you take a virtual field trip to The Louvre.

Van Gogh Museum

If you are teaching your kids about art history, the Van Gogh Art Museum is another popular choice. Located in the Netherlands, the Van Gogh Museum is offering virtual tours of all four floors so you can explore the art to your heart’s content! Thanks to Google for providing us with this great online resource.

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. brings in millions of visitors a year. And now, you can become one of the next virtual visitors to this national museum. Just click on the exhibit you want to see and you’ll be well on your way to an amazing virtual tour.

The images are crystal clear and quite stunning, and the arrows on the screen make it easy to navigate. (At least, easier than some other virtual tours I’ve used.)

British Museum

My father-in-law says the British Museum is the most amazing museums he has ever been to, and I have such a longing to go myself. But for now, a virtual trip is going to have to do. Thankfully, we have that option.

This online tour is not as extensive as other online field trips, but it’s better than nothing, right? If world history is up your alley, you’ll love this virtual trip.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is not a museum officially, but it almost feels like a museum. Step inside a world of art, architecture, and political history when you explore the royal family’s home.

Nasa International Space Station

Do you have a space lover? Bring your curious family member to the Nasa International Space Station without leaving your driveway, and enjoy a virtual dive into all things space.

Boston Children’s Museum

With a virtual tour of the Boston Children’s Museum, even the youngest adventurers can enjoy a virtual field trip that revolves around something other than animals.

I didn’t even know there were children’s museums who offered virtual tours, until I was doing research for this article, but apparently the Boston’s Children’s Museum is. How cool is that?

Other Free Field Trips

Great Wall of China

The graphics on the Great Wall of China virtual tour are incredible and very user-friendly. I know you can’t walk along the Great Wall right now, but why not give this virtual experience a try? See how far you can walk along the wall before you run out of internet footage.

Disneyland and California Adventure

How would you like to visit Disneyland for free, online?

Right now, Disneyland and California Adventure are offering people the chance to ride a virtual roller coaster, along with a bunch of other amusement park rides. Go to accessibledisneylanddreams.com to enjoy Disneyland and California Adventure from your couch.

This offering may be a limited time offer, but for now, at least, this fun adventure is yours to enjoy.

The Holy Land

This next field trip is absolutely amazing! I have always wanted to visit the Holy Land but alas, I have not yet had that opportunity. Now, everybody can visit Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and more, without spending a dime!

Visit Mars

Did you know you and your kids can visit mars on a virtual field trip? How cool is that? Learn about Mars and the Curiosity Rover and explore another planet from the safety of your home.

Random Online Resources

During my research, I found a Facebook page for Homeschool Virtual Field Trips if you want to give them a follow and join them on their virtual adventures.

Or if your kids are older, they might enjoy some of the more mature virtual field trips available at Discovery Education.

Paid Virtual Field Trips

Curiosity Stream

Curiosity Stream is a great streaming service for homeschoolers, or for anybody who wants to introduce more documentaries into their home. There are so many options and all of them are clean and family-friendly! We have loved learning with our Curiosity Stream subscription.

Adventurous Mailbox

If you’re looking for a virtual field trip that is a little more extensive, you might consider in investing in Adventurous Mailbox.

We did an extensive review on The Adventurous Mailbox a few months ago, but if you’re looking for the condensed version, here it is. The Adventurous Mailbox is a kit you buy for your kids that gets them a couple of really fun and adventurous chapter books where the characters are solving mysteries all over the world, plus exclusive access to some members-only content.

At the end of each book, you can do some coding projects tat revolve around the book and country at hand, and you can explore the online resources that teach you even more about each country. There is even a teacher’s guide for using these stories as a full-on curriculum for your kids.

This has been a great way for my kids to go on a virtual field trip around the world. Here’s a video of us unboxing and introducing ourselves to the Adventurous Mailbox package.

And here’s a video of us making Finnish pancakes at the end of our virtual field trip.

Broadway HD

If you’ve ever wanted to visit Broadway in New York, this might be your opportunity! Many popular Broadway musicals are being streamed on BroadwayHD. Sign up for a free trial, and if you think it’s worth the membership, you can keep enjoying this online resource all year long.

I hope you enjoyed this extensive list of some of the best virtual field trip ideas on the internet. Happy exploring!

Tell me, where will you go first? Comment below! I’d love to hear.

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More than 25 Virtual Field Trip Ideas