Virtual Field Trips and Other At-Home Learning Opportunities

In this stay-at-home era, aquariums, zoos and science centers are finding new ways to reach kids – including offering virtual field trips. These tours are free and offer supplemental learning experiences to classroom lessons or a fun activity for the kids while mom and dad are on the couch.

Take a virtual tour of the Seattle Aquarium and watch a Dive Buddy in full scuba gear interact with marine life in the aquarium tanks. It is a great way to introduce students to the concept of habitats and food webs. The aquarium also offers additional at-home learning experiences such as virtual presentations, animal cams, virtual field trips and nature challenges.

Check out the live animal cams from various zoos and aquariums. Students can observe animals such as dolphins, sea lions and sea otters on these live animal cams.

Add some excitement to your Zoom video meetings or virtual hangouts with a guest appearance from an animal. You can find the list of available animals at each aquarium here.

Watch the turtle episode of Stay Home with Shedd Aquarium to learn about different turtle species and their habitats. After the show, students can explore the Shedd Aquarium website and investigate a fish tank, design a transforming fish and answer questions about ocean conservation.

A shark virtual tour is a unique at-home experience that will help students understand how important sharks are to the ocean ecosystem and debunk the myth of sharks as man eaters. Students will assess the skeletal structure of sharks and compare it to their own as well as identify how sharks are able to sense electromagnetic fields through their body tissues.

In addition to the shark virtual tour, this video series teaches kids about sharks, rays and the habitats they call home. The Shedd Aquarium videos are short and have interactive elements that will keep students engaged as they explore the world of the sexiest and most misunderstood creatures of the sea.

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago goes above and beyond to give students a behind-the-scenes look at aquatic life through its YouTube channel. The videos are a fun mix of biology (check out the beluga sonogram!), environmental facts and adorable videos. This is a great resource for teachers and parents to use during the pandemic.

This virtual tour will allow students to explore the entire National Aquarium in Washington, DC without leaving their homes! The aquarium has created a tour map that allows students to navigate through each exhibit.

The Oceanografic in Valencia, Spain is Europe’s largest aquarium with 45,000 resident creatures from 500 different species. The website provides an at-home virtual experience where users can explore the aquarium using 360 degree video of each habitat and access other at-home learning activities such as a fish feeding, narrated shark feeding and a tour of the facility complete with a visit to the pressurized skid filter systems, quarantine area and main control room.