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15 Fascinating Aquarium Virtual Field Trips

Jellies, otters, and more!

Did you know that you can take aquarium virtual field trips … across the globe … for free? Depending on the site, you may also access supplemental programs and resources designed for students, teachers, and families. Whether you’re trying to supplement your lesson plans, or just give kids something interesting to look at, these aquarium virtual tours have a lot to offer.

Seattle Aquarium

For a complete field trip experience, head over to Seattle Aquarium’s YouTube channel. There, you’ll find a Dive Buddy in full scuba gear guiding the learning experience from underwater. It doesn’t get more immersive than that! And kids can learn all about the animals and food web found in the Puget Sound waters.

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Maritime Aquarium

The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut has put some of their most popular programs online for kids to enjoy from anywhere! With specific content based on grade level—from Kindergarten through 12th Grade—this is a fantastic resource, especially for distance learning. Unlike some of the virtual aquariums on this list, this one requires advance reservations, so be sure to plan ahead!

Georgia Aquarium

You’ll be absolutely captivated by the Georgia Aquarium which is based in Atlanta. This vibrant virtual aquarium offers a variety of live views including the Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam, Ocean Voyager Webcam, Jelly Webcam, and more!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

You might not live in California, but you can still enjoy much of what the Monterey Bay Aquarium has to offer. There are many views to enjoy including the Open Sea Cam, Monterey Bay Cam, and even a Shark Cam. And, be sure to check out the virtual aquarium’s narrated feedings (check the website for details)!

National Aquarium

Take a virtual field trip over to the nation’s capital for this adventure! Located in Washington, D.C., you can navigate the National Aquarium online through a View Map and explore scenes such as Alligators, Sea Turtles, Channel Islands, American Samoa, and even the Amazon River!

Shedd Aquarium

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago goes above and beyond to give kids a behind-the-scenes look at aquatic life. This YouTube channel is filled with fun lessons in biology (don’t miss the beluga sonogram!), environmental facts, and adorable videos. This is a fantastic resource for learning more about animals, their habitats, and our beautiful planet.

South Carolina Aquarium

Looking for some STEM-based activities to enhance learning (and beat boredom)? The award-winning education team at the South Carolina Aquarium offers virtual visits and nature challenges that are fun for the whole family! Become a digital explorer. Discover all of the complex habitats South Carolina has to offer and the fascinating animals that call it home.

Ripley’s Aquariums

Explore Ripley’s Aquariums at home and learn all about the amazing animals of our world waters! Staff educators will guide you through live feedings, educational encounters, storytime, and much more. The site offers downloadable animal activities, crafts, and educational materials for Pre-K, Elementary, and Middle School students.

Aquarium of the Pacific Online Academy

For more of a structured learning experience, head over to the Aquarium of the Pacific. They’ve created an Online Academy that offers educational activities through on-demand videos and scheduled interactive live programs with their educators. Plus, their live online courses for K-12 kids and printable certificates is a great way to engage and reward students.

Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo

Catch a glimpse of the unique (and luxurious) offerings at the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. Choose from three different views: The Main Tank, Underwater Zoo, and Shark Week Exhibit. It’s not as extensive as some of the other virtual aquariums on this list. But, it’s a great way to see something new for a few minutes!

New England Aquarium

Boston’s New England Aquarium has created a virtual portal for sharing live presentations, new videos, and even activities you can try from home! Interested in checking out the daily presentations? The aquarium posts them on their Facebook page every day at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

OdySea Aquarium

Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, the OdySea Aquarium has developed several online portals to promote learning. Kids will be fascinated by the Shark Live Cam and sink into the Virtual OdySea Classroom where they can learn more about penguins, jellies, and more!

Texas State Aquarium

They say that everything’s bigger in Texas, which would explain why this aquarium’s virtual tours section is so extensive! You won’t grow bored with all of the views they offer. Find a tunnel view of the Caribbean Sea, up-close look at the coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico, and a cam that lets viewers mingle with flamingos!

Tennessee Aquarium

Don’t live in the Chattanooga area? No problem. You can visit the Tennessee Aquarium anytime with their wonderful live cams! Check in on their gentoo and macaroni penguins, witness courtship, nest building, rearing young, and even molting. Watch river otters scampering up and down a multi-tiered landscape. Lastly, venture into the saltwater exhibit, home to thousands of colorful reef fish, toothy sharks, and a rescued green sea turtle!

Virtual Aquarium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q9O1YIt3oo

Perfect for winding down at the end of the day, Virtual Aquarium shares the best freshwater and marine aquariums all in one place! Plus, with relaxing sounds of the ocean, waterfalls, and rainforests, you could leave this on as a screensaver on your television for a calming backdrop throughout your day.

Did we miss one of your favorite aquarium virtual field trips? Share them with us, and we might just add it to this list!

Also, check out the best field trip ideas for every age and interest (virtual options too).

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16 Amazing Free Virtual Aquarium Tours

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My family loves to go on field trips, but sometimes it isn’t always practical. I’m finding that it is harder to make field trips work with our schedule as my kids get older. Thankfully there are quite a few virtual aquarium tour ideas available online.

A Virtual field trip offers a few benefits:

• No sitting in traffic or searching for a parking lot
• You are not limited to only going at certain times
• There are no lunches, snacks, and water bottles to pack
• Go on a virtual visit to multiple aquariums in one day – regardless of location
• Quick and easy
• Watch the live streams from the comfort of your own home
• You don’t need to worry about trying to see around larger groups
• Great for any age group

I searched aquarium websites all over the United States so that I could compile a list of all of the free virtual aquarium tours. Technically, these ideas are live cams. Many of the aquariums offer their own versions of virtual field trips, but those options are not free.

I recommend watching the free webcams and saving your field trip dollars for a day when you can go in person and get the full field trip experience. If you want to take advantage of one of the paid virtual aquarium programs, try to get a small group to join you so you can share the cost (and the fun).

These virtual aquarium tour suggestions are all hosted on official aquarium websites, not the YouTube site. YouTube isn’t always the best place for young children and I wanted this list to be full of safe online places. Hopefully, keeping the webcams on the official aquarium sites will prevent kids from clicking away to something not intended for little eyes.

There are a few ways to use these virtual aquarium tour ideas for almost any grade level:

• Watch animals as part of a school lesson
• Take breaks during the day to check out the amazing animals
• Check out their favorite animals as a reward for finishing schoolwork

Virtual Aquarium Tour Ideas

Some virtual aquariums charge an access fee or restrict viewing to members only. This list is only for free virtual tours.

Updated: 2/22

1. Georgia Aquarium

• Underwater Puffin
• Beluga Whales
• African Penguin
• Southern Sea Otter
• California Sea Lions
• Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef
• Ocean Voyager

The Georgia Aquarium has fantastic educational resources. The education team has put together videos to teach kids about the animals in the aquarium. There are also fun activities such as a word search, maze, and bingo.

2. Tennessee Aquarium

• Sharks Exhibit (includes a green sea turtle)
• North American River Otter
• Macaroni Penguin
• Island life

3. Maui Ocean Center

• Underwater Camera

Related: Tips for a Great Maui Ocean Center Field Trip

4. Shedd Aquarium

Shedd Aquarium has an online program called Stay Home. You can watch the entire series, or choose a specific animal to learn about.

5. National Aquarium

• Blacktip Reef Shark
• Pacific Coral Reefs

6. Oregon Coast Aquarium

The Oregon Coast Aquarium offers lesson plans for grades 3 – 8 under the teacher resources tab.

7. Seattle Aquarium

• Harbor Seal

Related: Seattle Area Field Trips

8. Aquarium of the Pacific

• Penguin Habitat
• Underwater Penguin Habitat
• Shark Lagoon
• Sea Nettles
• Tropical Reef
• Honda Blue Cavern
• Coral Predators

Make the most of your Aquarium of the Pacific virtual aquarium tour with the free resource kits . These kits contain multiple lesson plan ideas about things like ocean habitats, animal adaptations, and conservation of the world.

9. California Academy of Sciences

• Reef Lagoon
• Philippine Coral Reef
• Farallon Island Live Cam

10. Birch Aquarium

• Kelp Forest

The Birch Aquarium offers a printable food webs activity.

11. Mystic Aquarium

12. the dallas world aquarium, 13. clearwater marine aquarium.

• Sea Turtle Rescue

14. Ripley’s Aquarium

• Rainbow Reef with Tropical Fish

15. Odysea Aquarium

The OdySea Aquarium offers free lesson plans for preschool – high school. These would be a great addition to a marine biology curriculum!

16. Monterey Bay Aquarium

• Kelp Forests
• Monterey Bay

Bonus: Virtual Zoology: The Animal Kingdom Branch of Biology

A teacher reached out to me to let me know about this awesome resource that his students found. Thanks for sharing it with me Harry, Kelly, and the rest of the student volunteers!

The virtual zoology site has links to a ton of animal webcams. There are both marine animals you would find in an aquarium and animals that you might find in a zoo. Of course, there is some overlap between these categories.

• Farrallon Islands live webcam
• Humboldt Penguins
• Siamang Monkey
• Mountain Lions
• Puppies (My family fosters puppies, so this is definitely one of my favorites!)

Need ideas on how to incorporate these awesome virtual aquarium tours into homeschool lessons? Here are a few ideas:

• Geography – Check out different animals and aquatic life that live in a part of the world you are studying.
• Language arts – See real examples of aquatic animals found in books. For example, if there is a jellyfish in a story, hop online and view some of the real jellyfish at Ripley’s Aquarium.
• Science – Take a virtual aquarium tour while studying biology or marine biology
• Documentaries – After watching a documentary about an animal, see if you can watch the animal online.

Online tours can be a great way to have a unique educational experience. You can see so many animals that you would never be able to see otherwise!

Do you know of any other virtual aquarium tour opportunities or an amazing live webcam? Leave the suggestions in the comments so everyone can check them out!

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Welcome! My name is Jennifer. I am a teacher at heart. Before my children were born I was a public school teacher. Now, I am a homeschooling mom of two.

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Virtual Field Trips: Zoos, Aquariums, Farms and Safaris

Take a virtual field trip to see all sorts of animals without leaving home. You can visit zoos, aquariums, farms, and even go on a virtual safari all in the same day!

We’ve rounded up an amazing list of zoos, aquariums, farms and nature preserves that have webcams, live streams, and youtube videos you can watch to learn more about animals. We’ve also included links to online lesson plans and activities for those families wanting to create a richer learning experience from their virtual field trips.

What is a Virtual Field Trip?

Field trips are awesome learning experiences because they get you out of the classroom and take you into an immersive environment. On a virtual field trip , you open a window to explore outside your home or classroom. You can simply observe, or you can add to the experience with some educational information or activities to go along with it.

The list we’ve compiled below is pretty extensive, so be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to it.

Zoo Virtual Field Trips

Modern zoos are an amazing blend of entertainment and education, coupled with research and conservation. When you visit a zoo, you not only get to see and learn about animals you are unlikely to encounter, but you are also supporting efforts to protect wildlife and the planet.

Wildlife Curriculum

Try one of these resources to add to your virtual field trip experience.

• Virtual Field Trip Guide
• Free Zoo Field Trip Questions
• World Wildlife Federation’s “ Wild Classroom ” – They have 5 “days” of activites set up. There are also 9 educational toolkits currently available.
• National Wildlife Federation Lesson Plans and Webinars – broken up by topic and specifies appropriate grade level.
• Free Digital Versions of Ranger Rick Magazines – Through June 2020.
• Animal Books you can read or have read to you online
• Teacher Guides and Saving a Species Video Series + teacher toolkit from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.

San Diego Zoo (USA)

One of the most famous zoos in the world offers live webcams of baboons, penguins, apes, tigers, koalas, burrowing owls, elephants, polar bears, giraffes, and condors.

There is also archived webcam footage of pandas.

Houston Zoo (USA)

The Houston Zoo has webcams that let you look in on the giraffe feeding platform, the gorilla habitat, the elephant yard, the rhino yard, the chimp window, and even leafcutter ants!

The folks at the Houston Zoo have also been bringing the Zoo to You on their facebook page every weekday at 11am Central Time.

Kansas City Zoo (USA)

The Kansas City Zoo has live webcams showing two types of penguins, giraffes, and polar bears. The penguin cams are listed as separate cameras, but both show the same view. At the time of this post, the polar bear cam was not working.

Zoo Atlanta (USA)

We were fortunate to get to visit Zoo Atlanta a few years ago and we loved seeing the pandas! It’s so nice to know we can drop in and see Ya Lun and Xi Lun from home.

In addition to the webcam, Zoo Atlanta has three at-home learning guides for pre-k to 4th grade, as well as some animal games and crafts .

Philadelphia Zoo (USA)

Visiting the Philadelphia Zoo is unique because the animals are literally all around you as they have paths they can use to go over the walkways. When you can’t visit in person, you can view the penguin point webcam.

In addition, the Philadelphia Zoo has started doing Facebook Live sessions called “Philly Zoo at 2” at 2pm EDT daily.

Milwaukee County Zoo (USA)

On Zoo View TV, you can drop in on the Milwaukee County Zoo’s residents such as Polar Bear, Jaguar, Lions, Hyenas, Tigers, and Penguins… and even fish.

Elmwood Park Zoo (USA)

The Elmwood Park Zoo in Pennsylvania has a giraffe live camera from 10am-5pm EDT. They have also been going live on their facebook page with Zoo School from 11am-11:30am on weekdays.

Reid Park Zoo (USA)

The Reid Park Zoo in Arizona lists zoo cams for grizzly bears, lemurs, lions, elephants, and giraffes. Their zoo site also has a few zoo activity packets that were designed to be completed after a visit to the zoo, but could be done from home, as well.

Detroit Zoo (USA)

The Detroit Zoo in Michigan has live cams and videos they call “Virtual Vitamin Z” to help you get your daily supplement of zoo fun at home. Their live cams show you penguins, snow monkeys, falcons, and otters.

They also have past videos available on their site here.

National Zoo (USA)

The National Zoo has live webcams for you to virtually visit their giant pandas, lions, elephants, and naked mole-rats! And you can get updates on what’s going on at the zoo on the National Zoo Facebook page .

The site also has resources such as educational activities you can do at home and downloadable zoo activities .

Chattanooga Zoo (USA)

The Chattanooga Zoo in Tennessee has four live webcams on their zoo’s site. You can drop by and check out meerkats, snow leopards, tamarin, and the spotted genet.

Greenville Zoo (USA)

The Greenville Zoo has two cams set up to watch their giraffes. One gives you a look inside the barn. The other is a view of the paddock.

Alaska Zoo (USA)

As you might expect, the Alaska Zoo has a polar bear, and you can virtually visit it through its webcam. In addition, the zoo has started doing free live sessions via the Zoom app. Spots are limited and the schedule and links are being posted on the Alaska Zoo Facebook page .

Edinburgh Zoo (Scotland)

Did you know that the Edinburgh Zoo was the first zoo in the world to house and breed penguins? In addition to penguin cams, they also have live streams of pandas, tigers, and koalas.

In addition, the Wildlife Conservation Charity has some interactive learning from home courses for all ages.

Dublin Zoo (Ireland)

The zoo is also home to a scimitar-horned oryx, which is a species of antelope you can no longer find in the wild.

Ireland’s Dublin Zoo offers webcams of penguins and elephants, as well as their African Savanna where you might see giraffes, ostriches, zebras, or rhinos.

Marwell Zoo (UK)

The Marwell Zoo has a live video stream of their flamingos. They also have a photo streams (photos update every 30 seconds or so) of penguins, giraffes and lemurs.

Paignton Zoo (UK)

The Paignton Zoo has webcams set up looking at meerkats and sulawesi crested macaque. Their Flamingo webcam is currently unavailable. They also have a series of YouTube Videos about animals and working with them .

Starting Monday, March 23rd, the Paignton Zoo will be adding downloadable resources to their “ Wild at Home ” program for parents and teachers.

Zoos Victoria (Australia)

Zoos Victoria is an association of three zoos in Australia: Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo, and Werribee Open Range Zoo. Their site features webcams where you can see snow leopards (indoor and outdoor), penguins, giraffes, lions, and zebras.

More Zoos for Virtual Field Trips

• Live Tiger Cam
• Virtual Adventures on Facebook @brecsbrzoo
• Live Webcams : Aquatic Bird Cam, Sea lion Pups (not working)
• Videos on Social Media @BronxZoo
• Remote Learning Resources
• Virtual tour (Series of Short Videos)
• Online Learning Resources
• Live Giraffe Cam (9:30am – 4:45pm MT)
• “Abnormally Normal” Video Series (Facebook)
• Home Safaris daily at 3pm ET on Facebook
• Daily Virtual Classrooms on Facebook at 11am ET @ClevelandMetroparksZoo.
• Live Webcams – Discovery Reef, Bonobos
• YouTube Videos
• Live Webcams – Meerkats, Penguins
• Animal Update Videos (Facebook)
• “Zoo to You” Facebook Lives weekdays at 3pm ET @DenverZoo
• More Videos on Denver Zoo Youtube channel
• Live Webcams : Giraffes, Sea Lions, Meerkats, Siamangs, and Orangutans
• Animal Videos on Facebook @ElPasoZoo
• “Keeper Chats” on Facebook Live @FortWorthZoo
• “ School of Croc ” lives at 10am ET on Facebook
• Live Webcams : Macaque, Macaw, Penguin, Tiger, Walrus
• Videos on the Indianapolis Zoo Facebook page
• Live Webcams : Penguin, Lion, Giraffe, Flamingo, Goat
• Behind the Scenes on Your Screen – learn about Zoo Jobs
• “Zoo to You” Facebook Lives Weekdays 11am ET
• Updates on Facebook @MNZoo
• Learning Corner – Activities and downloadable curriculum for grades 1-12.
• Live Cams with Chat
• Bear Lesson Plans
• “ Do the Zoo at Home “
• Facebook updates and videos @OmahaZoo
• Live Penguin Cam (9am – 5pm daily)
• #BringtheStlZootoYou Videos on Facebook
• Live Webcams : Snow Leopards, Elephants, Amur Leopards (must have Flash Player enabled)
• #ZooOpenOnline with Facebook Lives and YouTube Videos .
• “Zoo School” Facebook Lives (Mondays 11am ET) + random story times and craft videos.
• Archived Live Videos + themed activities for kids that go with each video.
• “ Virtual Voyage ” daily at 2pm on Facebook
• Videos bringing the Zoo to you on YouTube
• Downloadable Activities
• Augmented Reality Zoo Tour (via Zappar App)
• Live Webcams: Bears, Bats, and Tigers
• Updates on the Woodland Park Facebook page
• Live Grizzly Bear Cam
• Updates on Facebook @ZooMontana
• Learning Resources : Activities and Printables
• Facebook Live Q&As – Weekdays 11am ET @ZooAmerica

If you know a zoo with great virtual field trip content like live cams, videos, or activities that isn’t on this list, let us know to add it!

Aquarium Virtual Field Trips

Aquariums focus mainly on ocean life, though many have animals that live out of the water, but live in or near the water.

One Big Ocean Online Curriculum

“One Big Ocean” is an online curriculum from Ocean.org. They have three different programs customized for the level of school. These can be used by themselves, or paired with a real or virtual visit to any aquarium.

• One Big Ocean Elementary
• One Big Ocean Middle
• One Big Ocean Secondary

Online Ocean School

You can also learn about the various creatures and habitats of the Gulf of St. Lawrence at “ Ocean School “, with three weeks of lessons online and more being added.

National Aquarium (USA)

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland has cameras placed in three exhibits: Blacktip Reef featuring blacktip sharks, rays, and colorful fish; “Jellies Invasion” which you can guess features jellyfish; and “Pacific Coral Reef”. You can also take a virtual tour of the National A quarium with 360 degree images.

Georgia Aquarium (USA)

The Georgia Aquarium is ranked as the best aquarium for families in the United States. We’ve been there, and it is AMAZING! And they have some great, high quality live feeds from their exhibits, too!

You can watch the Ocean Voyager cam where you can see sharks, rays, fish, sea turtles and even huge whale sharks! There’s also the Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef, Southern Sea Otters, Jelly Cam, California Sea Lions, African Penguins, Piranhas, and Beluga Whales.

And while they haven’t been going live, they have been posting videos to the Georgia Aquarium Facebook page .

Shedd Aquarium (USA)

You might have seen the video going around of the Shedd Aquarium’s penguins taking their very own personal tour of the aquarium’s exhibits. If you haven’t, you should check it out.

In addition to the one live stream we found on their site so far, the Shedd Aquarium also has a great series of videos just for kids called “Sea Curious”. They also have some really cool 360 degree videos of sharks!

The Aquarium of the Pacific (USA)

The Aquarium of the Pacific is located in Long Beach, California. They have several webcams that allow you to visit virtually. You can see penguins both above and below the water, a shark lagoon, sea jellies, a tropical reef, blue cavern, and colorful anthias and wrasse exhibit.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium (USA)

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium located on the Gulf Coast in Clearwater, Florida is home to Winter and Hope, the rescued dolphins whose stories were the basis for the movies “Dolphin Tale” and “Dolphin Tale 2”.

You can virtually visit Winter and Hope, along with Nicholas and PJ. The aquarium also has views of its otters, pelicans, and sea turtles.

The Clearwater Aquarium even has downloadable lessons in language, math, and science to go along with a real or even virtual visit to the aquarium. There is also an online Kid Zone with games, activities, and experiments.

California Academy of Sciences (USA)

As the name suggests, the California Academy of Sciences is not just an aquarium. The San Francisco facility is also a natural history museum with a rainforest exhibit and planetarium.

There are a few webcams that allow you to visit right from home. You can look in on penguins, stingrays, a coral reef, and even take control of a camera at the top of a lighthouse on the nearby Farallon Islands.

The site also has lesson plans and materials for kids from preschool through high school.

Tennessee Aquarium (USA)

Live webcams of the secret reef, penguin, and sea otter exhibits. And on their facebook page, they are live streaming Aquarium at Home sessions.

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada)

Canada’s Vancouver Aquarium is home to more than 50,000 animals and features 30 exhibits to explore. When you can’t visit in person, you can still drop in on the sea otters, jellyfish, and penguins via the webcams on their homepage.

Atlantic White Shark Conservancy

Facebook Lives weekdays at 10am @AtlanticWhiteShark . Resources on the website.

Farm Virtual Field Trips

While farms are different than zoos, they can be just as educational and rewarding in connecting us to nature, whether we visit in person or virtually.

Hen Cam (USA)

The Hen Cam comes from a backyard outside Boston, Massachussetts. The feed switches automatically between 3 cameras showing the hens outside and inside. You might also see goats and a bunny named Phoebe.

Peter’s Farm (Holland)

You can see a live stream of the cows, and maybe even some baby calves, at Peter’s Farm in Holland. The stream is only during operating hours, but there is also some YouTube footage for when it isn’t live.

Folly Farm (UK)

Folly Farm has a cute webcam that gives you a peek at its farm animals like sheep, goats and donkeys. The website also lists penguin, giraffe, and lion webcams from the zoo, but they were not working when we visited.

Farm Sanctuary (USA)

This sheep barn camera is at the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen , New York. They also have a recorded virtual tour of the farm showing you some of their other animals.

Goats Live (??)

Not sure where it is coming from, but this camera is pointed at some goats and streams 24 hours a day.

Farm Food 360 (Canada)

Farm Food 360 has virtual tours of all different kinds of farms. There are milk & cheese, dairy cow, sheep, pig, mink, grain, egg, and oat farms, feed mills, and an apple orchard.

Chatsworth Farm (Canada)

Chatsworth Farm is an over 2,000 acre family-run farm in Canada where they grow grain and legume crops, alfalfa, and raise beef cattle, sheep, turkeys, ducks, and chickens for eggs and meat. They have a few video tours on their webpage and they’ve also been live streaming recently on the Chatsworth Farm Facebook page .

Horse Shoe Farm (USA)

This camera pans back and forth showing the outdoor pens of the Horse Shoe farm in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The horses are not always outside, though.

Virtual Farm Field Trips on YouTube

We found a whole bunch of Farm tours and Q&As on YouTube. Here are links to those. Some are individual, but others are whole playlists with multiple videos.

• American Dairy Association Indiana (4 videos)
• Ohio Pig Farms (50+ videos, several very recent)
• Grow Next Gen (discusses various topics)
• Ohio Beef Council (18 videos)
• New York Beef Council (4 videos)
• American Dairy Association Northeast (12 videos)
• Pennsylvania Beef (no playlist, but at least 3 tours among their many videos)
• Milk Means More (4 tours to a Michigan Dairy farm)

Safari Virtual Field Trips

SafariLive (Africa)

Live Streamed safaris from the African wilderness. You never know what you are going to see, and your tours are guided by knowledgeable guides who sometimes answer questions from viewers.

SUNRISE SAFARI (Monday to Sunday)

• Central African Time (CAT): 06:00am – 09:00am
• East African Time (EAT): 07:00am – 10:00am
• Eastern Standard Time (EDT): 00:00pm – 03:00am

SUNSET SAFARI (Monday to Sunday)

• Central African Time (CAT): 15:30pm – 18:30pm
• East African Time (EAT): 16:30pm – 19:30pm
• Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT): 09:30am – 12:30pm

Cumbria Wildlife Trust (UK)

Over on the Cumbria Wildlife Trust webpage, you can drop in on webcams of a few different animals from across the United Kingdom. There is a camera pointed at the bird feeders at Plumgarths Wildlife Garden, Grey Seals at the South Walney Nature Preserve (archive footage when cam is not working), a Badger cam from Rydel, Ambleside, and an Osprey cam from Foulshaw Moss Nature Preserve (says cam will be available late March 2020).

Explore.org Webcams (Worldwide)

Explore.org has countless live streams from all over the world that you can choose from, including several locations already mentioned in this post. But our favorites are the ones you can view outside of a zoo, aquarium, or farm setting.

Some of these also have great audio, so you can make it full screen, turn up the volume, and have a window to the world. Great for background or meditation.

• Tembe Elephant Park (Africa)
• Honeybees going in and out of a hive
• Flying Foxes (bats)
• Hear Orcas (and occasionally see them) underwater
• Sea Lions hauled out onto rocks
• Polar Bear Cubs

Wolf Conservation Center

The Wolf Conservation Center in New York is dedicated to protecting and preserving wolves in North America. They have several live feeds of various species of wolves. And if you want to learn a little about wolves , you can do that, too.

Bald Eagle Cam (USA)

Despite being the national symbol of the United States, we don’t get to see Bald Eagles all that much. But with the camera set up at Duke Farms in New Jersey, we can look right into a Bald Eagle’s nest! They even have a scavenger hunt you can print out for the kids to watch the nest and see if they spot any of those things.

18 Best Virtual Zoos & Aquariums in the World

Strap on your ‘seatbelts’ and virtual reality headset (if you own a pair), we’re about to take you on a wild ride through four continents to experience a string of virtual field trips to the zoo and aquariums like you’ve never experienced before.

North America: Virtual Zoo Tours & Aquariums

Home to world-class zoos and one of the most remarkable aquariums we’ve ever set foot inside *ahem* Georgia Aquarium, North America is one virtual trip you have to take to ogle at pandas, Beluga whales and even piranhas via 24-hour live cams.

San Diego Zoo

If there’s one virtual zoo trip to place on top of your online ‘travel’ bucket list – it’s San Diego Zoo.

Slide into their live cams to take a peek at the daily shenanigans of tigers, elephants, baboons and more adorable four-legged fur friends that will steal your hearts away.

But wait, guys. There’s more to your San Diego Zoo virtual tour and online experience. Way more. Ensure that you pop a visit to the dedicated kids’ section of the website for a myriad of animal-focused learning activities, art and crafts video tutorials, home experiment ideas and educational games.

Oh, and if you have a VR headset handy, now’s the time to pop them over your head and check into their YouTube channel to immerse yourselves in 360º videos, like this one of giant tortoises eating watermelon.

Atlanta Zoo

In need of a cute animal fix that’s not your own household pet? Atlanta Zoo has got you covered with their world-famous live PandaCam . Meet the ridiculously adorable panda twins, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, who are melting hearts across the globe with their playful antics and just all-round cuteness.

Don’t forget to swing by their Facebook page to experience what basically feels like virtual field trips to the zoo, featuring regular keeper talks and behind-the-scenes insight into animals and their diets and lifestyle.

The website also offers a host of fun activities and lessons that support ‘at home learning’, like animal arts and crafts, backyard bingo and a storybooks packed with hands-on activities.

TIP: Download the WILDEVERSE mobile game, which features real-life characters from Atlanta Zoo. Transform your home into a digital jungle and embark on research quests and missions to find endangered apes. 

Cincinnati Zoo

Hopping over a couple of states north to Ohio, we’re going to spring into Cincinnati Zoo to meet the world’s most famous hippopotamus, Fiona. Follow this immersive virtual zoo tour to get a feel of the space, exhibits and animals.

Swing by their Facebook page to tune into The Fiona Show where you can watch videos of her birth and follow her astonishing progress and growth. She’s the only hippo ever to survive an almost 2-month premature birth.

They also host daily virtual safari live streams, in which you can learn all about the zoo’s resident animals, including their diets, personalities and lifestyles.

Toronto Zoo

Slip into your down jackets because I’m about to beam you further up to the chillier regions of the northern hemisphere. Ready? Get set. Click away.

Explore Toronto Zoo’s YouTube channel to get up close and personal to mighty grizzly bears,  fluffy white Arctic foxes, lynxes, and even Masai giraffes.

If you’re keen to experience a virtual zoo trip to this beautiful destination, take a look at this complete walkthrough which lets viewers enjoy the zoo on a snowy winter day.

Georgia Aquarium

Yes. We’re parents and.. yes, we love to travel, so I can safely say that we’ve been to a crapload of aquariums around the world. If there isn’t an aquarium on our city itinerary, then something has gone horribly wrong in the planning process.

Of all the aquariums we have visited, none have, so far, compared to Georgia Aquarium. Not even close. If you’re an aquarium nut like we are – you need to put a  physical visit to this spectacular place on your travel bucket list.

For now, you can, of course, experience this epic aquarium virtually via their virtual aquarium tour and live cam feed where you can soothe your soul gazing at dancing jellyfish or stare in awe at the Beluga whale. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Attention, please. It’s time to choose your snack, sink into the couch and get cozy; your self-guided Monterey Bay Aquarium virtual tour is about to begin.

Step one. Cast this 360° aquarium walkthrough to your TV or don your virtual reality headset ’cause things are about to go down in underwater town.

Virtually meet and learn about Monterey Bay Aquarium’s resident marine animals on their interactive website, or stalk your favourite sea animal’s live cam . 

You can even enrol in free online courses comprising guided activities to support learning at home or engage the kiddos in free virtual zoo games that both educate and entertain.

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Asia: Virtual Zoos & Aquariums

Exotic rainforest virtual zoo tours and thrilling night safaris – discover Asia’s most enchanting zoos and aquariums without having to peel yourself off the couch. 

Singapore Zoo

Okay, so Asia is off-limits right now. I mean, pretty much every continent is out of reach at this moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a virtual field trip to this incredible zoo in South East Asia that everyone raves about.

Get a feel of Singapore Zoo and what animals you can expect to encounter in our very own walkthrough guide that we filmed on one of our visits or read up on the zoo’s resident animals.

Hold up a second though. Your journey doesn’t end at the Singapore Zoo. Drop into the Singapore River Safari for a virtual walkthrough tour and meet weird and wonderful creatures that inhabit rivers around the world.

Your adventure continues onwards to the Singapore Night Safari where you can view a hypnotising fire show , witness an impressive animal show , and hop on a tram car to discover nocturnal animals in their open exhibits.

Check out our Singapore virtual zoo guide to see the highlights of this open zoo concept.

Jurong Bird Park

While we’re in Singapore, let’s take a hot moment to visit one of the biggest bird parks in the world where you can make a feeble attempt at identifying up to 3,500 birds across 400 species from all over the world.

Discover the diverse zones inhabited by bird species from all corners of the Earth, meet the winged residents of Jurong Bird Park or take a virtual stroll through the lush, green space that will give you all the jungle vibes 

YOU MIGHT LIKE:  30 Fun Places to go in Singapore with Kids

Aquaria KLCC

Swing into Aquaria KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on one of your free virtual field trips to zoos and aquariums around the world and tune into marine animal feedings and educational talks on their 24-hour live streaming cam .

Don’t forget to check their Facebook for the schedule.

Meet the spine-chilling Sand Tiger Shark and his stingray buddies, or chill out with laid-back Green Sea Turtles that all dwell inside the Living Ocean tank.

Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo

Set off on a virtual aquarium tour at the magnificent Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo located in the glittering capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The tour isn’t just an ordinary virtual field trip of your average aquarium; this epic space also doubles as a zoo. Be prepared to encounter fruit bats, desert hedgehogs, cobras, chameleons.

Pop over to their Facebook page to learn fun animal facts and binge on videos of iguanas, hedgehogs and racoons freely roaming the empty aquarium.

Australia: Virtual Zoos & Aquariums

Kangaroos? Check. Koalas? No doubt. Tasmanian Devil? Yeah, baby. It’s time for a trip downunder to meet friendly Aussie animals and not-so-friendly creatures and crawlies that either bite or kill.

Taronga Zoo 

To experience one of the southern hemisphere’s best virtual zoos, you can’t go past Sydney’s newly launched Taronga TV . Tune into the live cams to view animal exhibits, shows, keeper chats, and even take a peek inside the Wildlife Hospital.

Hit up Taronga’s YouTube channel to witness funny animal antics and catch up on missed shows and performances. This video of a lemur baking in the sun is basically all of us right now when the sun touches our windows in quarantine.

Sea Life & Wild Life Sydney

Sea Life and Wild Life Sydney have recently launched their fun and super educational online virtual zoo and aquarium experiences. Prepare yourselves for hours worth of fun family activities and homeschooling content.

Dive into the virtual aquarium experience and meet dugongs and King penguins in live streams, or gape at aquarists throwing themselves into the shark tank to feed hungry sea predators.

If you’re running low on learning activities for the kiddos, you’ll also find a bunch of marine animal-themed craft activities and free downloadable homeschooling resources and activity sheets .

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A virtual visit to Sea Life wouldn’t be complete without popping into Wild Life Sydney to learn all about Australian animals that are slightly more.. grounded.

Peek into live streams to see what Rocky the croc is up to or join in on storytime events run by the zoo staff on the virtual zoo tours page. You’ll also find printable animal-themed colouring pages, plus fact and activity sheets.

Before you leave, don’t forget to drop by  Merlin’s Education Toolbox for even more activities and workbooks, especially helpful for parents seeking homeschooling resources or teachers looking for lesson content. 

READ MORE: 21 Romantic Date Ideas in Sydney

Europe: Virtual Zoos & Aquariums

The last continent we’ll be virtually teleporting you to on this worldwide virtual safari, zoo and aquarium tour is, of course, good ole Europe. Home to the world’s oldest zoo and the first zoo in the world to house and breed penguins – your roundtrip will end with a little history and class.

Germany’s capital can proudly claim to have the most popular zoo in all of Europe. Berlin Zoo houses a whopping collection of over 20,000 animals across 1,500 different species – more than any zoo on the planet.

Considering none of us can currently visit in person, we can thank the Internet once again for this high-resolution walkthrough , making it possible to meet some of the friendly furry residents of the zoo, virtually.

Oh, and I’m just gonna casually mention that they have PANDA CUBS, guys. *Hyperventilating*. Jump onto their Facebook to meet the twinning cuties, Pit and Paule. Right now. It’ll be the most adorable thing you’ll see all week.

You can stalk them trying to catch some snoozy time below…

Speaking of stalking animals (cos that’s socially acceptable, right?), Prague Zoo houses a baby elephant that online visitors can attempt to spot on their live Elephant Valley cam . Pop by their YouTube channel for more adorable moments and to follow its journey from birth.

Watch this 4k  walkthrough of the zoo and try to spot mighty Western Lowland gorillas, polar bears, hippos, Asian elephants, red pandas and many more cute and intimidating animals.

RELATED: 13 Ways to Stay Healthy While Travelling

Edinburgh Zoo

This was the first zoo in the world to house and breed penguins – in fact, Edinburgh Zoo is popularly known for its Penguin Parade, where waddling little penguins are let free their enclosure for a stroll around the space.

Observe the antics of King and Rockhopper penguins on live cams , as well as koalas, tigers and pandas.

They’ve made their learning portal readily accessible – the online hub is packed with free activities, games, quizzes and fact files for kids of all ages.

Hang tight – just gonna beam you over to our final leg of virtual zoo tours around the world in Vienna. The city is home to the world’s oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, which opened its doors in 1752.

Soak in this gorgeous space in this virtual zoo stroll and meet animals from all around the world and, of course, explore the picturesque landscape that surrounds the zoo. 

Keep an eye out for the zoo’s newest sensation, Finja – a polar bear cub. Watch her birth and everyday life on Vienna Zoo’s YouTube channel .

Have you got more ideas to add to the list?

Hit me up in the comments and let me know what virtual little gems you’ve found in isolation, so that together, we may survive being confined inside four walls with perpetually bored kids.

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Virtual Field Trips

Take a virtual field trip to the aquarium.

Visit the Aquarium from the comfort of your classroom by booking a Virtual Field Trip! All Virtual Field Trips are $150 for 30 minutes. Zoom platform is preferred but any conferencing platform can be used. For additional details or questions, please contact [email protected] .

*Virtual Field Trips are highly customizable to fit class curriculum and student interests. Other programs we offer spotlight reptiles, birds, vertebrates, invertebrates, jellyfish, and horseshoe crabs. To view standards for each offering, check out our standards sheet. *

Great Ocean Voyage

“Dive into” the deepest tank in North America, our Great Ocean Tank, and learn about the animals that call it home.

Visit the Sea Turtle Care Center™

Come face-to-face with the patients in our Sea Turtle Care Center and discover the process of rescue, rehabilitation and release. 

Secrets of the Swamp

The swamp is home to many incredible animals, including the snapping turtle. Check out this freshwater ecosystem and get to know the wildlife within it.

Keeping Our Cool Amid Climate Change

Check out how we can mitigate the effects of climate change on water, wildlife and wild places. This program is customizable to your location and its specific climate-related issues.

Animal Art and Enrichment

Get out your art supplies and paint alongside an ambassador animal! Learn how the Aquarium uses enrichment to keep our resident animals happy and healthy.

Biomimicry: Problem Solving With the Planet

Need some advice? Ask the planet! Discover all that we can learn from plant and animal mentors that have been problem solving through unique adaptations for 3.8 billion years.

River Otter Adventure

Journey to the mountains where you’ll “meet” our resident river otters, Charlie and Beau! Discover the amazing adaptations that help them survive in the chillier waters of the upstate.

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When you can't get away, your kids still can by taking a virtual field trip to a museum, farm, zoo, or another fun location. We compiled our list of favorites to help you keep your kids engaged and entertained. Some of these are virtual tours (you can actively decide where to go on the tour) and others are video walkthroughs (just watch and learn), but all give you a great experience of the location.

Best Art-Centric Virtual Tour: The Met

A glimpse at some of the greatest works of art created.

Online exhibits on various topics.

There's only one view of the museum currently available.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to over 5,000 years of art from around the world. You can see some of it from the comfort of your home. Take a virtual stroll through part of the museum using Google Street View. There are also numerous online exhibits on topics like Coco Chanel, Vermeer, Catholic allegory in art, and more.

Best Tour of Space: NASA

The volume of space videos.

The approachable aspect of the videos.

So much more to see on the site.

It's not easily searchable unless you know what you're looking for.

This might be cheating a bit because it's really a collection of videos, but, oh boy, what a collection to tour! The Galleries open up an array of videos covering space topics from testing a parachute for Mars to moving water in space. Each video is a mini virtual tour that will awe kids and encourage interest in science and space.

Best Tour of the White House: Google Arts & Culture's The White House

Stunning 360-degree images.

See inside and outside the White House.

Offers views of 140 paintings.

Once inside a tour, it's hard to know what you're looking at.

No search functions.

Every President since John Adams has occupied the White House and now your children can visit it, too. Google Arts & Culture offers four museum views (three tours of The White House and one of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) plus a look at more than 140 paintings that grace (or have graced) the walls of the country's most famous abode. The 360-degree images let kids explore to their heart's desire.

Best Cave Virtual Tour: Son Doong Cave

Son Doong is beautiful.

The virtual tour includes lots of information.

Zoom into areas for a more detailed look.

No supplemental online activities.

Son Doong is the world's largest natural cave. Located in Vietnam, it features a subterranean river and the largest cross-section of any cave worldwide. National Geographic's virtual tour lets you explore the cave with full 360-degree views and immersive sounds. You can even zoom in one area to check out the campers in their tents. Son Doong is beautiful and worth a virtual visit.

Best National Park Virtual Tour: Yellowstone

Offers multiple tours.

Lots of historical information.

Amazing images.

No video tours.

Lots of written information that can turn off some kids.

Yellowstone offers seven virtual tours appropriate for older elementary and middle school ages. There's a lot of written information along with the images, and the tours aren't in video. However, the information is fascinating, and the photos are stunning.

From learning about old Fort Yellowstone to discovering park anomalies like Mud Volcano, these tours are a great way for kids to discover unique facts about America.

Best Natural History Tour: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

So many exhibits to see!

Easy, clickable maps.

Quick and easy to navigate.

It's not always easy to read the signs in the exhibits.

This iconic museum is dedicated to understanding the natural world and humanity's place in it. There's so much to see it can't possibly be listed here. However, the museum offers an online tour of most of its exhibits. Split this tour up into multiple lessons, so kids don't get overwhelmed.

Skip the ground floor and go straight to the first or second floors.

Best Aquarium Virtual Tour: National Aquarium

Easy to find exhibits.

Fun to explore using the 360-degree options.

Some scenes spin quickly, which can frustrate young learners.

Baltimore's National Aquarium features more than 20,000 aquatic animals. Kids can click and drag images to navigate their way around and use arrows, the map, or a scene list to explore various exhibits. Explore eight areas, such as the Amazon River, a tropical rain forest, and jellyfish.

Best Tours of the World: AirPano

Bright, well-produced videos and images.

Offers tours of numerous countries.

Includes video and still frame-images.

What's not to like?

AirPano has a variety of tours in China, Portugal, Switzerland, and more countries. Children can visit the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in China, an underwater cave in Indonesia, ski resorts in France, and more destinations around the globe.

What makes this site so good is that it offers narrations of several tours, provides closeups through interactive actions, and includes short chunks of written information that's easy for kids of most ages to read. The tours are also fairly short, which makes these tours great for younger kids, but older kids will still enjoy the trip.

Best Virtual Tour for Car Lovers: Lane Motor Museum

Totally unique tour.

An inside look that allows for deep diving into collections.

There's no way to tell what a specific vehicle is unless you know cars.

Scroll to the bottom of the link to watch a fun virtual tour of one of the most unique car museums in the world. Lane Motor Museum is home to an oddball collection of vehicles dating from the 1920s up to modern times.

Your child will love seeing amphibious vehicles, microcars, prototypes, and more. The tour is easy to click through and offers six angles to entertain viewers.

Best Tours of Nature: Nature Works Everywhere

Tours are narrated and easy to follow.

Provides student handouts, vocabulary, and discussion questions.

We wish there was a larger library of tours!

Explore nature around the world with Nature Works Everywhere's virtual tours. Visit the coral reefs of Palau, the deserts and grasslands of Africa, a rainforest (from a canoe's viewpoint), a renewable energy plant, and more.

The tours are narrated and give great, quick facts to help kids learn in simple, straightforward ways. All tours are appropriate for grades 3 through 12 but are marked with notes about the grades most likely to enjoy the tour.

Best Historical Tour: Ellis Island

A clear explanation of Ellis Island, how it worked, and why it was needed.

Includes children asking questions of tour guides.

The images in much of the tour are small in order to focus on the tour guides.

Ellis Island is a key piece of American history. This virtual tour offers lots of anecdotes and features actual guides from Ellis Island telling stories. Plus, it includes lots of pictures and views of the island.

It's more appropriate for fourth grade and up, mainly due to the litany of facts and complexity of the information provided.

Best Slime-Based Virtual Tour: Slime in Space

Nickelodeon

It's playful and educational.

Good production values.

Fun experiments.

It's a video, not an interactive virtual tour.

What happens to Nickelodeon's iconic slime when it's in space? That's the concept behind the Slime in Space virtual field trip. Featuring real astronauts and Nickelodeon celebrities, the 15-minute video shows kids how slime and water react in a microgravity environment 250 miles above the Earth. Along the way, it answers burning questions like, "Is slime a solid or a liquid?" and "Can you slime a person in space?" (The answer is: yes, very slowly.)

Best Virtual Zoo Tour: San Diego Zoo

Live cams of the animals.

A variety of educational videos.

Fun games and activities.

Fixed camera angles mean you're not always guaranteed to see the animals.

The San Diego Zoo is home to more than 3,500 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies. It's widely considered one of the best zoos in the world. But, if you can't make it to California, it has a robust virtual experience online.

You can peek in on the animals through live cams. There's also a variety of videos that teach kids about vultures or show them how to draw a tiger, for example. There are also zoo-related games and activities kids can do at home.

Best General Farm Tour: FarmFood 360

360-degree views of the farm.

Offers a free app for Android and iOS.

It can be hard to see things on a mobile device.

FarmFood 360 gives an inside look at the activities of a Canadian farm. Kids see 360-degree views of the farm as they learn about milk and cheese production, sheep farming, egg processing, and more.

There's an app available for Android and iOS devices, and it's compatible with some virtual reality headsets.

Best Virtual Planetarium: Stellarium

Realistic night sky simulation.

Mobile apps are available.

Includes a telescope control module for experienced astronomers.

Can be difficult to navigate.

The mobile apps aren't free, but the money supports the project.

Stellarium Web is an online planetarium created by two brothers. Offering an accurate and realistic view of the night sky, it lets you pan around and spot stars, satellites, and other celestial bodies.

It offers mobile apps for Android and iOS that aren't free. The money goes toward paying server and development costs for the two-person project.

Best Living-History Virtual Tour: Colonial Williamsburg

Next best thing to being there.

The virtual scavenger hunt.

The virtual tours are highly interactive.

Virtual tour models can load slowly.

Condensation or inclement weather can obstruct the webcam views.

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum in Virginia that offers a glimpse at what life was like in the 18th century. Its virtual tour is highly interactive and includes videos, informational signs, and 3D models you can rotate.

With its various webcams, you can see the armory, courthouse, merchants square, and more. Colonial Williamsburg's website also offers a virtual scavenger hunt your kids can participate in as they tour the area.

Best European Museum Virtual Tour: The Louvre

It's the Louvre.

The website offers a list of online family-friendly activities.

The virtual tours include a map and an information button.

The website offers limited language options.

Sure, we'd love to jet off to France and tour its fabulous museums personally. But if that's not an option, the Louvre has several virtual tours available on its website. The offerings include exhibitions on the body in movement, founding myths, Egyptian antiquities, and more.

The Louvre also has a handy list of family-friendly online resources everyone can enjoy, including a Mona Lisa VR experience.

Best Factory Virtual Tour: M&M Factory Tour

Zoonar RF / Getty Images

Who doesn't love chocolate?

360-degree views of the factory.

It's short.

The Food Network teamed up with candy maker Mars to give M&M fans a virtual tour of one of its factories. During the short YouTube video, viewers can pan around as a tour guide explains how unrefined chocolate is turned into the little candies we know and love.

Best General Virtual Tour Resource: Discovery Education

An eclectic variety of virtual field trips.

Watch live or on demand.

Trips come with a companion guide packed with activities.

A schedule of when field trips go live would be nice.

Discovery Education offers a variety of virtual field trips for kids learning from home. The offerings change often but currently include an NFL experience, a doodling experience meant to encourage creativity, and a virtual field trip through the internet of things. You can watch the field trips live or catch the videos later on-demand.

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