Explore the World From Anywhere!
Engaging and Educational Virtual Tours and Activities for Kids from Pre-K to Grade 8.
Author: Sarah Perowne
Last update: 5/15/2023
Going to an alternate universe isn't all that educational virtual activities and tours are good for. In fact, after Covid-19 hit, more educators and parents started using virtual activities and online learning experiences to enrich their classrooms and lessons, and most are still using them today. The best part is the majority are completely free! From studying the biochemistry of coral reefs to visiting world-class museums, the world is your oyster from just about anywhere.
Preschool & Kindergarten (Ages 3-5)
Don't save all the virtual fun activities for the older kids! Preschoolers and kindergarteners can enjoy short bursts too! With the following list, you can ensure virtual activities are age-appropriate and active enough to keep them enthralled.
Yoga is great for improving balance and flexibility, especially in little ones. It also encourages relaxation and focuses on the breath; no longer something only a few people do. There are some fantastic online yoga for programs that are not only beneficial but often educational too!
Want to teach about marine life and its ecosystem? Help little kids to put what they learn into context by showing them a live video stream like the Clear Water Marine lifestream, where you can observe dolphins, sea turtles, and many more types of aquatic life. Georgia Aquarium is another great resource, as is the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
Stuck indoors? Or need a quick 10-minute mood booster for kids? Join British Body Coach Joe Wicks, and get moving. His videos are highly energizing for kids, getting those proprioceptors working.
During Covid-19, many were looking for online activities for young kids. Tumble Tots listened, and since the world returned to a new normality, they have kept their educational videos for babies and young kids on their YouTube channel. So parents can access them whenever they need a little sing-song or educational storytime.
UK-based Little Supernovas has created digital activities for educators and parents to access at the touch of a button. Doesn't matter where you're based; they are emailed to you. The activity packs are themed on popular fairy tales, like Red Riding Hood or The Emporers' New Clothes, and are specifically designed for young learners.
Virtual activities for kids can be difficult to narrow down, especially when you want to ensure they are still educational. If you want to ensure activities are engaging and aligned with the Common Core Standards, ABCya fun games are addictive.
Lower Elementary (Ages 6-8)
Educational activities can span countries, cities, and continents by taking virtual field trips without ever leaving your classroom.
Google Arts & Culture is a world of cultural adventure. Browse through thousands of interactive resources, from discovering art from 7 continents to fun online games like guessing the famous monument in a world covered in dough! History, art, and social studies rolled into one.
Move over paper maps because Google street view has up-leveled virtual trips. Explore monuments, search for locations, and get a birds-eye view of the world in a few clicks.
If you're struggling to find the time to go on a trip, you could try virtual field trips. Not only are they fun, but all you need is the internet; they are also highly accessible and mostly free. Learn about agriculture at a virtual dairy farm and discover how manure is stored, and crops are harvested.
Discover marine life and explore newly-discovered deep-sea ocean species and their habitats with The Deep Sea. It's an educational and interactive deep dive into one of the earth's most important resources, and it's friendly enough for younger audiences. You could also study the skies with Space Elevator.
You don't have to worry about not having enough space or time to organize an offline scavenger hunt, Puzzel is an online template tool where you can connect multiple challenges into a puzzle game. You can make questions subject-specific, so it's perfect for all-around learning.
This last one is for STEM teachers. Smithsonian Science Education Center is a dedicated organization on a global mission to transform K-12 Education Through Science™ with its partners. Their virtual activities and digital assets are accessible and informative.
Upper Elementary (Ages 9-11)
The beauty is that by leveraging technology and digital resources, you can create lesson plans or an afternoon of fun that broaden your fourth, fifth, and sixth-graders minds about different cultures and experiences from absolutely anywhere with these virtual field trip ideas.
The world is ever-changing, and students must be prepared and informed of what opportunities might be there for them as they grow. With these virtual field trip tours, you can explore future job opportunities and careers in tech and science.
The Space Center Houston is a brilliant science museum, the official visitors center of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Its free interactive mobile app features tons of NASA immersive experiences, like the Tram Tour Boarding Passes, GPS maps, virtual reality, and augmented reality experiences.
Grab your computer mouse and take a trip. Students could climb Denali Mountain in Alaska in the afternoon or explore The Hidden Worlds of National Parks through Google Arts in the morning. You could even join a video tour if you're learning how materials are recycled as part of your virtual class activities.
Not everyone can visit world-renowned sites; that's where virtual vacations come in. If you're learning about Antoni Gaudi's architectural style, visit the Sagrada Familia. Equally, if you want to examine historical Islamic monuments and examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture, take a trip to the Alhambra Palace, or if you want to examine famous spots in Paris, you can hear all about it for free on a Paris tour.
Learning a foreign language? Digital dialects is a completely free resource for teachers, students, and language lovers to dive into. Their directory of fun practice games, flashcards, and interactive materials spans over 80 foreign languages, as well as tons of World geography resources.
Middle School (Ages 11-14)
Most of a middle schooler's life is spent online, so why not make it educational? No need for fundraising or permission slips; these educational virtual trips and activities are game changers, using some simple resources like Google Maps.
Struggling to find age-appropriate virtual tours? The Natural Conservancy's resource directory is designed for 4th grade to 8th grade. Each trip includes a video, teacher guide, and grade-appropriate student activities.
Flipgrid by Microsoft might look like another popular social app, but it's much more. Set up your classroom, post a topic, and spark debate, or get your students to record weekly reflections in a safe digital space. They are all about incorporating social-emotional learning (SEL) and building positive relationships with students.
Bitmoji took the education world by storm during quarantines worldwide, but educators continued using it. There are tons of ways you can creatively incorporate a Bitmoji in your classroom; need some inspiration?
Another Google Arts and Culture resource is their Open Heritage site, where would-be heritage consultants, archeologists, or historians can explore thousands of global heritage sites with the help of digital preservation technology.
Street art is a global art form of expression, politics, and often societal commentary. Students can explore the stories behind some of the world's most famous street art pieces and artists. Explore through the map and discover stories from around the world.
Political Science and the world's history of immigration is an important topic. The Heritage Documentation Programs have created a virtual tour for students to explore and dive into Ellis Island, one of the USA's most important immigrant processing stations. Another online class activity could be to search through The Statue of Liberty's passenger database.
Totally Awesome Virtual Activities for All The Family
If you're looking for something virtual and educational to do as a family when the weather is a bit cold, or you're cooped up indoors and want to use screen time correctly, try some of these online family-friendly educational experiences. You never know; you might learn some new skills! For teachers, you could set these as activities to do at home.
There are many award-winning museums to visit without a physical ticket. Try the Valencia Museum of Science, the collection of artifacts at the British Museum in London, or The Met in New York.
This digital experience is for music lovers, music historians, and more. Explore the Grammy Museum's collection of hand-picked virtual exhibitions, discover the sound of Motown, or learn about female trailblazers in the history of country music.