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Whether at a museum, an overnight, or a park, we all have fond memories of our favorite field trips as a kid. But field trips are more than an exciting deviation from the typical book learning — they also provide many benefits. They allow the students to see what they have been learning about in real life. But how do we provide those benefits now that much of our lives are virtual?
Field Trips Provide Real-World Learning
Learning beyond their classroom provides deeper insights into a particular topic. They can learn through seeing and interacting with the subject of learning. They can better put context around the topic by seeing it in action. They can also exercise some responsibility and independence as they are out into the world without their parents.
Field Trips Provide Academic Growth
While there is certainly evidence of a better understanding of a topic when seeing it in the real world, there is also improved academic performance in general. At least one study has shown test scores improving after regular field trips. In addition, they expand academic learning opportunities. For example, the student may go to the capitol to understand how government works, but in watching a debate on a bill, they will learn about the topic of that bill as well.
Field Trips Provide Cultural Growth
While the relishing experiences of field trips help the children to perform well academically and produce better results, it also helps them grow culturally. Field trips make them part of the bigger world outside the walls. Field trips allow all the students to gain similar experiences even if they belong to different socio-economic backgrounds. Students who cannot enjoy these activities with their families due to lack of means can enjoy all of them being on the same ground as the other students. This allows them to perceive the world differently and broaden their perceptions.
Field Trips Encourage Critical Thinking
Field trips improve students' ability to think critically about the various things they see and experience. They can understand art, ask questions about history, and look at things from a completely different perspective. It allows them to explore their mind and judge the pieces of art that they view. Students can empathize with history in a better way. Field trips allow the students to open their doors to critical thinking outside the box in their classrooms.
But How do we Get Those Benefits With Everything Online?
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has impacted the academic lives of students. Traditional classroom learning has taken the shape of virtual learning and online classrooms. Whether or not this has been effective is a completely separate debate, but without a doubt, the availability of physical field trips has mostly disappeared. Despite that disappearance, the ease of use of technologies has birthed a new opportunity: virtual field trips. While staying at home, children can gaze at art, discover science, experience outer space, and visit museums through live streams. Even though these are screen experiences, they can be just as engaging, fun, and exciting as the physical trips. And, on the plus side, they don’t require school fundraising to be able to go. Here are 19 different ideas to experience the power of virtual field trips.
Museums
You can visit the historical artifacts and art through live webcams of various museums. They offer live experiences inside the museum while physically being at home. American Museum of Natural History offers a virtual tour of the museum led by Brian Selznick, the author of Wonderstruck. He takes you along with the company of some experts on the way. British Museum opens its doors for kids to view the era they are the most interested in through webcams. Metropolitan Museum of Art provides an interactive opportunity for the kids to view its corners that they can explore with the help of an illustrated map to find treasures in the museum’s collection. Museum of Science offers science lovers a virtual look at Boston Museum’s arts and crafts by hosting live streams and webcams daily. The Vatican Museum offers a 360-degree view of the 9 Vatican rooms, including the Sistine Chapel.
2. Farms
With the virtual field trips to farms, you can view how they grow and harvest food you eat and visit around. American Egg Board offers virtual tours of different egg farms. Elementary and middle school students can choose videos accordingly. In New York, Bright Farms show kids how the food is grown on their farm and how it is transferred to your nearby grocery store. They hold a very interactive web stream with a quiz to understand the students better. Farm Food 360 allows kids to understand different kinds of farms and food plants. You can visit dairy cow farms, orchards, sheep farms, milk, and cheese, or egg processing facilities, according to your preference.
3. Landmark tours
Most of us planned on visiting popular landmarks for sightseeing, but Corona became a pain in the neck. Now that everything has become virtual, you can visit these landmarks through webcams. Buckingham Palace provides sightseeing lovers a view room-by-room and gazes at all the amazing historical objects there. Ellis island allows viewers to look at 12 million immigrants between 1892 and 1954. What makes it even more exciting is the knowledge of live first-hand stories. You can also look inside George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, through the street view on Google Maps. Who doesn’t love The White House? Get to know about the people’s houses. You can’t move, but you can scroll and click on what interests you.
4. Aquariums
Aquariums are everyone’s favorite. You can pick your favorite live webcams and enjoy the mesmerizing tour while lying in bed. Georgia Aquarium’s Ocean Voyager Webcam is our favorite, especially the view of the whale shark; you should log in to see that. Jellycam at Monterey Bay Aquarium provides a soothing view of the aquarium. National Aquarium provides a self-guided tour where you can view around the way you want, just like you do traditionally. The Maritime Aquarium provides a very interesting live stream for all grades. You can talk to the research vessel captain and ask about water pollution or anything.
5. Planetarium
Planets, stars, galaxies, sunrises, solar eclipses, and much more! This sounds so enthralling. International Space Station-NASA has provided videos where you can tour the ISS with the astronauts. Did you know that NASA has partnered with Google to provide you with an Interactive Mars Virtual Tour? You can click around the terrain, travel to various mission sites, and learn about whatever you want. Through Stellarium Web, kids can delve into the experience and view more than 60,000 stars up in the sky. You can gaze around the breathtaking constellations at night no matter what corner of the world you live in.
6. National parks
You can view Yellowstone National Park while staying home and roam around Fort Yellowstone, Fountain Paint Pot, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs, and many other places. Yosemite National Park has an incredibly interactive virtual tour that makes you view many different parts of the park, e.g., Diving Board, Tuolumne Meadows, Nevada Falls, Ahwahnee Hotel, Swinging Bridge, and Hetch Hetchy.
7. Volcanoes
The US Geological Survey looks over the volcanoes in the country. You can log onto that, click around, and gain information on whichever volcano you want to know about through a very interactive live session.
8. Live animal cameras
Visiting the zoo without visiting the zoo? Yes, that’s what live animal cameras present. You can explore the wildlife through live animal cams from many different zoos, which is as fun and engaging as the traditional way. San Diego Zoo Live Cam allows you to look at baboons, penguins, pandas, giraffes, and many more. Want to look at lions? Log onto the Smithsonian National Zoo came to see lions, giant Pandas, elephants, and Naked Mole Rat. My kids can watch some of the silly things these animals do!
9. Nature Lab
The Natural Conservancy offers an excellent interactive live stream where the viewers are offered 11 different online field trips that include exploring any rainforest to unlock the mysteries of a coral reef.
10. Castles around the world
3D Mekanlar offers the experience of virtually exploring any castles you want from around the globe. You can go to Bayern, Jerusalem, or Alexandria while sipping coffee at home.
11. Towers around the world
3D Mekanlar also offers an exploration of towers around the globe. If you were planning to visit the Eiffel Tower this summer? You don’t have to cancel your plans anymore. Instead, you can also visit the Kuwait Towers Atomium Towers of Brussels.
12. The Great Wall of China
Want to visit the wonder of the world? You can have a bewitching virtual tour of the fortification. Jinshanling to Simatai, watchtower, and Winter are the three available options.
13. Easter Island
Want to know the story behind the enormous stone statues that stand tall on Easter Island? Nova’s online adventure “Secrets of Easter Island” lets you unleash the hidden mystery.
14. Lakes
You can have a quick, interesting, engaging virtual tour of the Great Lakes Now. Coastal wetlands, algae, and lake sturgeon are all the components of the tour.
15. The Smithsonian
The National Museum of Natural History provides an absorbing self-guided room-by-room tour of the permanent, past, and current exhibits. Send your kids to the second-floor Bone Hall to look at the different kinds of skeletons.
16. Son Doong Cave
National Geographic allows a beautiful virtual tour of the largest cave in the world, located in Vietnam. Click on the interactive map to have an immersive experience. Make sure to keep the sound on.
17. Turn Back the Clock
This museum takes viewers through seven decades of history with compelling stories, pop culture artifacts, interactive media, and much more.
18. M&Ms Factory tour
The Food Network hosts an amazing virtual tour of the factory of M&Ms and shows the viewers how delicious candy is made. Don’t miss it!
19. Discovery Education
This is a fascinating virtual tour for kids that shows the plants that manufacture cars of the future to a lab that researches nuclear energy.
Technology has made things so much easier, fun, and accessible to all. So, take advantage of this beautiful opportunity and explore the world through virtual field trips.