WanderfulAdventuring
In my “10 Ways to Travel the World When You’re Stuck at Home” post, I mentioned taking virtual tours or field trips. Here is a comprehensive and alphabetical list of some of the best (FREE) options with links – Just click on the name of the place you want to tour!
Virtual tours you can take from the safety of your own home:
Zoos and Aquariums
- Asilia Africa – Go on an African safari with these 360 videos that take you across Kenya and Tanzania!
- Atlanta Zoo – Their live panda-cam is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face!
- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden – Get attached to Fiona the baby hippo by watching all 4 seasons of The Fiona Show. Alternatively, you can check in at 3pm for their daily Facebook livestream.
- EarthCam – EarthCam is a collection of many different animal live cameras from many different locations! This website can keep an animal-lover busy for hours!
- Georgia Aquarium – This aquarium maintains several live cams including a beluga whale cam and multiple penguin cams.
- Houston Zoo – Here you can find numerous live cams of the animals. My favorite to watch are the elephants and chimpanzees.
- Memphis Zoo – Here you can find live cams of pandas, hippos, and elephants!
- Monterey Bay Aquarium – This aquarium in California has various live feeds including an open sea cam, a shark cam, and even an aviary cam.
- National Aquarium, Baltimore – This 360-degree virtual tour will take you through the different floors and past all of the exhibits it has to offer.
- San Diego Zoo – stories, game/activities, information, and live cams of the animals.
- The Shedd Aquarium – Their Facebook page contains tons of behind the scenes footage of the animals. Definitely check out Wellington the penguin’s adventures!
Museums
- The British Museum, London – Housing famous artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon Marbles, and Egyptian mummies, you won’t want to miss this virtual encyclopedia.
- J. Paul Getty Museum – If you want to get in on the #GettyMuseumChallenge and re-create one of these works of art with the materials you have at home, then you’ll want to check out this virtual tour. Google Arts & Culture offers 360-degree virtual tours along with photos of these exhibits.
- The Louvre, Paris – Get a taste of the world’s largest and most popular museum. I recommend checking out their exhibit on Egyptian Antiquities.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City – Stroll through the MET’s 26 online exhibits and examine art from numerous cultures and times in history.
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – If you enjoy fashion, these 16 virtual exhibits are sure to peak your interest.
- Museum of Modern Art, New York City – Click through pictures of the MOMA’s extensive collection and read a bit about how each piece came to be.
- National Museum of the United States Airforce, Ohio – Take a 360-degree, self-guided tour of the entire museum to see various military weapons and aircrafts.
- National Women’s History Museum, Virginia – Celebrate International Women’s Day everyday with these online exhibits.
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam – Google Arts & Culture hosts yet another 360-degree tour for this museum. If you are interested in Dutch art and history, this is the gallery for you.
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – This 360-degree tour of my one of my favorite museums makes you feel like you are actually there walking through the halls. There is even a VR option for an even more immersive experience if you have the equipment!
- Space Center Houston– This space museum offers a free app that includes interactive augmented reality and audio tours.
- Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Spain – Europe’s largest private art collection now offers numerous virtual tours and videos. They even have virtual reality options as well.
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam – Admiring Van Gogh’s collection of paintings can be so relaxing- even virtually
- The Vatican Museum– 360-degree tours of the Sistine Chapel and more await you within the Vatican Museum’s website.
Theme Parks
- LEGOLAND, Florida – In this 360-degree virtual tour, you are greeted by a giant green LEGO dragon. Virtual Reality headset compatibility is also available!
- SeaWorld Orlando – The best part about this is the option to ride some of the roller coasters in VR! The birds-eye view of the park is pretty cool, too.
- Walt Disney World, Florida – This is the one we’ve all been waiting for. Google street views from Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot so you can pretend you are standing amidst all the magic.
