Sure, there’s nothing like the real thing. But since we’re all stuck at home, virtual reality is working wonders. And it’s not a bad substitute at all. How else could you visit the Bronx Zoo, Mars, and the Great Wall of China on the same day — without even changing out of your pajamas?
Below you will find links to virtual tours, live webcams, and online exhibits from some of the coolest places on earth — near and far!
Animal Related Virtual Tours for Kids
Staten Island Zoo – Streaming live on Facebook & Instagram at 3pm weekdays and 11am weekends. Watch animal feedings and other live demonstrations.
Bronx Zoo – Check out the live cams at the Madagascar and Aquatic Bird Exhibits, observe zen-like tiger moments, take a virtual course and more.
San Diego Zoo – Have a peek at the zoo’s apes, baboons, condors, elephants, giraffes, koalas, owls, penguins, polar bears and tigers in real-time.
Monterey Bay Aquarium – Offering ten live webcams showing ocean animals and wonders — including sharks!
Georgia Aquarium– The breathtaking Ocean Voyager webcam features whale sharks as you have never seen before, plus you can check out live gators, piranhas, sea otters and more.
Panda Cam at Atlanta Zoo – Pandas. Live. All-day long. Need we say more?
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Museums & Monuments
Historic Richmond Town – Check out living history demonstration videos virtual tours and behind-the-scenes looks at the museum’s collection, buildings, and historic houses on-site.
Snug Harbor – Take a virtual tour of the grounds in the spring, sign up for a live-at-home workshop or dance party, take a history tour and more.
The Great Wall of China – Navigate your way across the 3,000-mile wall that stretches across several provinces of northern China.
Yellowstone National Park – Tour some of the main attractions around the park, including the Grand Canyon, Mud Volcano, and Mammoth Hot Springs.
The Vatican – Check out a 360-degree virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel, the Niccoline Chapel, Chiaramonti Museum and more.
American Museum of Natural History – Tour inside the museum with Google Arts & Culture, join a Facebook live watch party and see the sweet birdfeeder cam.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – Take a virtual walkthrough every exhibit, both past and current, and see dinosaur bones, butterflies, minerals, fossils, insects, ocean collections and so much more. This is a can’t-miss.
Google Arts & Culture – An all-inclusive, A-Z virtual tour collection of hundreds of museums all over the world. Tour museums across the globe from your computer.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum -While the Intrepid is usually a hands-on experience, kids can still check out the Concorde G-BOAD and the Submarine Growler, as well as learn about technologically groundbreaking aircrafts.
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Children’s Museum of the Arts – The kids are the stars in Children’s Museum of the Arts’ collection of more than 2,000 pieces of children’s art from around the world.
The Boston Children’s Museum – The kids will enjoy this trip through the second-oldest children’s museum in the United States, where they can become dinosaur experts and learn about Japanese culture at the Japanese House, a real two-story townhouse from Kyoto.
The White House – Sneak a peek into all the rooms of the U.S. Capitol with a virtual tour of the president’s home.
National Baseball Museum – Schedule a a virtual field trip to Cooperstown to learn about the history of baseball. It’s free but registration is required for each “trip.”
Science & Education
NYC Parks – See cherry blossoms in parks, see wildlife, observe a live hawk family in Washing Square Park, plus tune into live forecasts with the Urban Park Rangers and take virtual walks in the park.
Farm Tours – a 360-degree tour of a Canadian farm that includes, dairy cows, apple orchards, a pig farm, egg farms and more.
National Geographic – Explorer Classroom’s live video events occur daily at 2pm and connect students with National Geographic Explorers across all seven continents to bring exploration to life.
Discovery Kids – No-cost Virtual Field Trips come with a companion guide packed with standards-aligned, hands-on learning activities.
Nature Conservancy Field Trips – Designed for grades 5-8 but customizable for all ages, virtual field trips allow students to travel the world and explore natural environments without leaving the classroom. Each virtual field trip contains a video, teacher guide, and student activities. See China’s Great Forests, The Coral Reefs of Palau, America’s Rainforests and Deserts and more.
Hayden Planetarium – Watch videos created using data from the Digital Universe, which incorporates data from dozens of organizations worldwide to create the most complete and accurate 3-D atlas of the universe.
Access Mars – Access Mars lets you explore a 3-D replica of the Martian surface exactly as it was recorded by the curiosity rover.
National Parks – Take an awe-inspiringly beautiful tour of Alaska’s Kenai Fjords, Hawaiian Volcanoes, New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns, Utah’s Bryce Canyon, and Florida’s Dry Tortugas.
NASA Glenn Research Center – Get an inside look at NASA Glenn Research Center’s facilities.
New York Botanical Garden — Enjoy a virtual walk through the Spring Landscape and connect with plants and plant-lovers while you’re stuck inside.
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