TOP PICKS | 35 TOOLS
Virtual Field Trip Apps and Websites
Top Picks
RELATED
Print list
Virtual Reality Experiences
Nearpod
Interactive slide show tool engages students and promotes collaboration
Bottom line: This effective tool leverages the capabilities of 1-to-1 environments and brings slide shows into the 21st century.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Silver edition is free and supports up to 30 students. Gold edition is $120 per teacher per year and supports up to 50 students. Platinum edition is $349 per year and supports up to 75 students. Volume discounts available for schools and districts. There are also in-app purchases for additional material.
Expeditions
Fire up the warp drive to bring VR field trips to your classroom
Bottom line: With stunning scenes and a flexible delivery method, your students will thank you for journeying together through space and time.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free, Paid Educators can put together their own kits or purchase a recommended kit. Pricing ranges from $3,999 for 10 students to $9,999 for 30 students.
Google Views
Spinning panoramas mesmerize viewers, play well with other Google apps
Bottom line: Use this tool to find winning, wonderful locations, integrate with other Google tools, then return to the meat of your lesson planning.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
Discovery VR
Immersive videos let students enter the magical world of VR
Bottom line: VR videos will grab the viewer's attention; just be sure to carefully select the content for your class.
Grades: 3–10
Price: Free
Google Earth VR
Explore the world with an incredible new perspective and sense of scale
Bottom line: An amazing experience that brings the world to life, despite the heavy investment in VR required.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free Requires a virtual reality headset.
NYT VR - New York Times
Immersive 360-degree videos take users inside the headlines
Bottom line: Though there isn't much explicit learning content, there's immense value in the extraordinary opportunity to take a walk in someone else's world.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
On-the-Ground Reporting and Journalism
Detour - Immersive Audio Walking Tours
Great location-based history but presents implementation challenges
Bottom line: A compelling way to learn local history, but no classroom support and ultimately dependent on physical access to the tours.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free to try, Paid Individual tours are $4.99. City guides are $24.99.
Listenwise
Bring real-world stories from public radio into the classroom
Bottom line: A fantastic resource that brings both historical and current event public radio stories into the classroom.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free to try, Paid Free, 30-Day premium trial for teachers. Request a quote for premium pricing.
StoryCorps
From the everyday to the extraordinary, personal interviews get kids listening
Bottom line: It's a great resource to help demonstrate the value of listening and the importance of storytelling and interviewing skills.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Global Oneness Project
Dynamic multimedia resources explore life experiences around the world
Bottom line: Unique approach to incorporating global issues into the curriculum; monthly stories capture interdisciplinary topics.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free, Paid Lesson plans and stories are free. Individual films, screening packages, and educational film toolkits are available to purchase.
NPR: Borderland
Illuminating, up-close-and-personal visit to the U.S.-Mexico border
Bottom line: As a truly unique resource that's worth using, teachers will need to create lessons that scaffold students' understanding of the complex issues found within.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
Online Museums
Asian Art Museum
Inventive lessons and activities integrate Asian history, art, and more
Bottom line: It offers an in-depth look at Asia’s influence on art and history and provides lots of creative tools for educators.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7 Science
Outdated site still useful for science games and investigations
Bottom line: Many of these interesting and highly educational activities, though a bit disorganized, still challenge and engage kids in important ways.
Grades: K–5
Price: Free
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Powerful stories and media centralize African-American history
Bottom line: While there aren't ready-to-go curricular materials, this modern, well-curated, and well-contextualized digital collection is sure to inspire compelling lessons.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
MoMA Art Lab
Interactive projects, cool prompts, and famous works inspire creation
Bottom line: The overall experience is very open-ended, making it easy to bounce between creating and exploring art.
Grades: 1–8
Price: Free
Apprentice Architect: Foundation Louis Vuitton
Examine an architectural masterpiece from the comfort of the classroom
Bottom line: App has superb activities for kids who can visit the building themselves that are worthy enough for kids who can't, especially those interested in architecture.
Grades: 2–5
Price: Free
National Geographic Education
Top geography resource site provides global exploration opportunities
Bottom line: This is a must-bookmark site for classrooms across the curriculum hunting for inspiring geography-based resources.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
National Archives
Access U.S. history with treasure trove of docs, genealogy, and other resources
Bottom line: NARA's website wasn't designed for kids, but they can definitely use it to research and learn about history, genealogy, and the U.S. population and government.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Ford's Theatre
Online museum offers exhibits, resources on Abraham Lincoln, Civil War
Bottom line: The resources here will add depth to your teaching and boost students' interest for any study of Lincoln and the Civil War.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Google Arts & Culture
Excellent curation and an unmatched art collection invite exploration
Bottom line: A one-stop shop for a vast amount of compellingly curated and contextualized art, but it's lacking educator supports.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Exploratorium
Science experiments and activities abound in this comprehensive resource
Bottom line: A host of mostly at-home activities are available if kids stick to the Explore tab of online resources.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
MoMA
Museum companion can stand alone as a modern art resource
Bottom line: Free access to a wealth of images with detailed commentary from artists and curators makes this a great arts education resource.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Newseum
Media museum's site mixes history and civics, teaches about journalism
Bottom line: An effective summary and introduction to the media; more exercises and tools to help budding young journalists would make the site even more noteworthy.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Extensive resource collection supports teaching about the Holocaust
Bottom line: As a valuable resource for anyone teaching or learning about the Holocaust, time to explore and plan is necessary in order to make the materials effective.
Grades: 6–12
National WWII Museum
High-quality resources and activities offer an in-depth study
Bottom line: Materials and activities support a thorough study of World War II, making this a valuable resource for both teachers and students.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
Other Tools and Resources
NOVA
Compelling science videos have high-quality classroom applications
Bottom line: Stellar simulations, teacher guides, and other activities can stand on their own, and they're enhanced with high-quality video content.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
California Academy of Sciences
Expert research and diverse, rich lessons inspire future scientists
Bottom line: A perfect companion to (or substitute for) the Academy, this site delivers highly interactive resources and research with a lot of depth.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Some of the educational kits and virtual programs have a cost for classrooms.
Google Earth
Cool geographical exploration tool has endless classroom applications
Bottom line: Google Earth is an engaging and completely open-ended app perfect for use across the educational spectrum.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Oddizzi
Kids travel the world, cultivate global curiosity and responsibility
Bottom line: Kids get a sense of culture and global responsibility via kid-friendly articles and great multimedia.
Grades: 3–8
Price: Free to try, Paid 95 GB Pounds/year classroom and 280 GB Pounds/year for 99 students or under, up to 800 GB Pounds/year for 700 + students
GooseChase EDU
Digital scavenger hunts provide dynamic, fresh learning experiences
Bottom line: Students and teachers will enjoy the powerful learning of a modern scavenger hunt.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid Free version supports 1 live game and 5 teams. Plus version is $49 per year and supports unlimited live games, 10 teams, and 40 participants per game. Premium version is $199 per year and supports 40 teams and 200 participants per game and has email and phone support.
Google Lit Trips
Google Earth-powered tours explore how stories and geography connect
Bottom line: With some initial fiddling, this can be a good option to increase student interest in -- and add depth to -- literary study.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Google Treks
Cool tool uses maps to create fun projects, could use some updating
Bottom line: The site offers a good variety of subjects and grade levels, but project quality across the site could use more consistency.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Project Noah
Engaging online community for relevant, hands-on science fieldwork
Bottom line: Project Noah is a free and easy way to take part in biodiversity research with the support of a knowledgeable and global community.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Google Maps
Cool extras bolster top navigation app
Bottom line: Google Maps is an essential navigation tool that can empower students to explore their world.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Field Trip
With a few tweaks, nifty augmented reality app can be classroom-ready
Bottom line: Field Trip isn't as searchable as Google Earth, but it's a strong local resource.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
