Free Virtual Class Field Trips....for When You Can't Actually Visit in Person

 

I'm writing this blog post in Spring 2021, when my home province of Ontario is in lockdown, and schools are once again virtual.  Like many school districts across the world, planning a real field trip involving school buses and permission slips is not possible this year, so teachers are looking for alternatives.  

A virtual field trip is one that is done via technology; it allows anyone to visit a location that may be all the way across the world, from the comfort of their chair.  While many virtual field trips have a cost, there are tons of free possibilities out there!

Upper elementary or middle school teachers can check out these free tours to see if one or more of them can fit in with their curriculums or simply make an engaging way of spending time in those last few days of school.

Canada's Parliament Buildings

When I was in elementary school, another nearby school sent its Grade 8 classes to Ottawa for a week to visit Canada's capital while MY principal declared he wasn't a travel agent.  While those other classes were visiting the Parliament Buildings, I was visiting the class of Sister Marie Theresa's friend's class in Tilbury, another small town.  We visited local industries, ate lunch at the Blue Bonnet Cafe, and attended mass.  Two weeks later, their class came to Wallaceburg to visit our town.   I may still be holding a (massive) grudge about the whole episode.

So, I never did get to see those Parliament Buildings, but you and your class can, courtesy of the internet.  Make your way through:

a) the Peace Tower Observation Deck.

b) the Memorial Centre.

c) the House of Commons.

d) the Prime Minister's Office.

e) the Library of Parliament.

f)  a meeting room.

Iqaluit:  Explore the Canadian Arctic

This site is in development, but it allows your students to discover a bit about what it would be like to live in an arctic community, which can only be accessed by plane or boat!

The Emerald Edge Rainforest 

Visit the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest in the world, which your students may be surprised to learn stretches across Canada's west coast into Alaska in the north and back to the United States (Washington).  The rainforest is home to more than 50 Indigenous communities and a vast array of wildlife.

Soarin' - Walt Disney World

If you have a few minutes to kill, take your class to my very favourite ride at my favourite place in the world!  They will fly over the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, and the Eiffel Tower, to name a few.   While we can't visit Disney right now, we CAN go virtually soaring!

Eiffel Tower

My friend Michelle McDonald has put together a free virtual trip to the Eiffel Tower in France!  It includes informational text, questions, and a grading rubric to go along with a video.  This has been created in Google Slides, and requires no paper!

San Diego Zoo Animal Cams 

The San Diego Zoo has webcams set up 24/7 on thirteen different animals, including elephants, koalas and penguins.  Your students might enjoy popping in on some of these animals to see what life is like for them.  You might want to tie this in with the great book Should There Be Zoos? by Tony Stead, found in almost every school library!

Quebec

This is another virtual tour created in Google Slides (created by me!).  Students learn about the Quebec Winter Carnival, visit the Indigenous community of Inukjuak, and become acquainted with some unique facts about this province.
  

If you would your students to explore all thirteen provinces and territories of Canada, check the full resource by clicking here or on the image below.