Virtual Field Trips and Tours
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
This is one of the top virtual tours available. This site allows the user to tour the museum and see many of the exhibits close-up by clicking on the photo symbol. This tour gives users the feeling of actually being inside the museum. Inside the White House - interactive tour of the White House and South Lawn. Hotspots on the map provide students with information on the different areas through images, videos and text. Additional links provide more detailed information and photo galleries of individual rooms. A separate tour of the West Wing can be accessed by clicking the tab at the top of the window.
Google Earth's Moon - Download Google Earth and get a lot more than maps and aerial views of the world. Click the 'Saturn' button on the tool bar and select the Moon. Zoom in, click on the images and videos to see the moon's surface in a way you've never seen it before. Information about lunar explorations and different areas/features is also provided. Awesome!
360 Cities - interactive, panoramic views of cities, natural areas, and historical locations around the world. Click on a thumbnail on the interactive world map and be transported to an exotic location - no passport required. The images are absolutely stunning! Images can be rotated left, right,up, and down for a completely immersive experience.
NOVA Ancient Egypt - tour the pyramids and other architectural wonders of ancient Egypt. Additional features include information on how the pyramids were built, hieroglyphics, and the history of the region. Look for the Launch Interactive button to access the virtual tours.
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Colonial Williamsburg - These LIVE field trips are offered at various times throughout the year. Teachers must register in advance. The schedule and more information are available on the website. The broadcasts include historical documentaries or dramatic videos, and discussions with historians.
Lascaux Caves in France - take a virtual tour of these magnificent caves and see the prehistoric cave paintings up-close without buying a plane ticket to Europe.
Ancient Rome - a bit low tech by today's standards, this field trip provides visitors with background information on and images of the more important ancient Roman buildings and artifacts. Other field trips are available on this site so be sure to check their list.
NASA - a virtual museum of important events in the history of space exploration. Videos and podcasts of actual events, 3D models of rockets and space ships, as well as other information tell the story of NASA and our journey into outer space beginning in the 1950s.
Virtual Field Trip - from NASA's Ames Research Center, this downloadable program provides "immersive, complete Spherical interactive panoramas" which transport users to remote locations where scientists are researching Earth sites which share common characteristics with sites on Mars. Download, unzip files, and enjoy!
Air Pano Virtual Tours - 360 degree panoramic views, videos, image galleries and stories of exploration can be found on this site. Virtual tours include volcanoes, Antarctica, Yellowstone National Park, Russia, Italy, China - far too many to list here.
The Forbidden City - another fairly low tech virtual tour, this site contains images and texts. The content is presented in the form of a linear slide show rather than an interactive, immersive format.
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