Photo by Matt McClain at Shutterstock
The United States is lucky enough to have stunning National Parks, the most diverse architecture, and iconic works of art. Our nation’s beautiful locations contain a piece of our history and help us learn more about what brought us to where we are today.
So whether you’re a history buff who wants to know more about the origins of the United States, an art enthusiast, or simply someone who enjoys exploring nature, these 11 virtual field trips of America’s most significant landmarks will connect you with the nation in a whole new way.
… The best part is that you don’t even have to get off your couch to visit them!
The truth is that it takes a bit of planning to visit the White House in person. Not only do you have to plan your trip to Washington, D.C., but you also have to write to your congressman to put in a request in advance. But taking a virtual field trip of the White House is much less complicated.
Google Arts and Culture offers free virtual tours of the White House’s historic grounds, interior, and even its impressive collection of decor and art. It’s an extraordinary chance to get an up-close look at what is arguably the most essential and iconic building in American history.
It may even surprise you to learn that our first president, George Washington, never even lived in the White House. That’s just one of the interesting facts about the White House you probably never knew.
Venture on an interactive virtual field trip to New York’s Ellis Island, where many families began their adventure in America as immigrants.
Scholastic offers a virtual field trip and interactive tour that will even walk you through the immigration process with historical videos and pictures so you can hear the stories of those who have passed through the once immigration inspection station and learn more about the many difficulties they faced while coming to this country.
The Battle of Gettysburg, which took place in 1863, went on for three days and took the lives of 50,000 soldiers, which makes it the deadliest battle of our nation’s Civil War. Nowadays, the site has been preserved for tourists who want to walk the grounds or explore on a virtual field trip from home.
Chief Interpretive Officer Christopher Gwin hosts the virtual tour through 16 tour-stop videos, and they all explain the historical significance of the featured areas and absorb you in the stories of pivotal moments in the battle.
Your tour will end at the National Cemetery, where Abraham Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg Address.
The Battle of the Alamo took place at the beginning of 1836 and was a key event in the Texas Revolution.
To learn more about the history behind Texas’ war for independence from Mexico, you can take a 360-degree virtual field trip of the Alamo Shrine and grounds in San Antonio.
You can also dig through a digital version of the Alamo Battlefield and see the way it looked in 1836.There’s even a tour the nearby riverwalk and other interesting attractions in San Antonio.
The online tour of Space Center Houston can be classified as one of the best virtual space exhibits in the entire world.
Originally called the Johnson Space Center, this fantastic facility was the ground of operations for some of the most famous space flights in history, including the extraordinary Apollo 13 mission, which was retold in the movie starring Tom Hanks.
The Space Center’s virtual field trip videos are all about the International Space Station, what life in space was like, and even the Apollo 13 mission. It’s a fantastic place to learn and be inspired.
Plymouth Plantation is home to some genuinely impressive exhibits, including a recreation of the 17th-century farming village where the pilgrims lived, a full-size reproduction of the Mayflower, and a barn that features rare breeds of historic livestock.
So, if you don’t have any plans to be in New England anytime soon, you can still participate in the current exhibition, History in a New Light, through a free virtual field trip that explores the grounds and highlights 17th-century artifacts, like maps and pottery recovered from the Native American Wampanoag Village of Pauxtet and the actual 1602 European settlement.
On this virtual field trip, you can tour the Library of Congress, our country’s oldest federal cultural institution.
Online tours will allow you to visit the James Madison Memorial Building, Thomas Jefferson Building, and John Adams Building.
Virtual visitors will uncover the rich history behind every place by browsing through interior and exterior photos of the buildings, accompanied by enlightening descriptions.
You don’t have to pack up your car to travel along the historic Route 66, which was our country’s first all-weather highway!
It covers more than 2,400 miles across eight states, and thanks to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, you can truly experience “The Mother Road” all the way from Illinois to California from the comfort of your own home.
Pictures and descriptions of landmarks from the old route, like service stations, food stops, motels, and other fun roadside attractions in charming towns along the way, will transport you back to a different era!
The famous Salem Witch Museum located in Massachusetts portrays a time in American history in which a series of investigations, accusations, and prosecutions ultimately led to over 200 people being accused of practicing witchcraft, a.k.a. the Devil’s magic, and the undertaking of 20 convicted “witches” in colonial Massachusetts between the years 1692 and 1693.
Those who are intrigued by this witch-hunt period plagued by injustice and paranoia can virtually explore pivotal Salem witch trial sites, including original houses, gravesites, foundations, and other sites marked by historical markers.
St. Augustine in The Sunshine State is the oldest city in the nation, and it’s incredible! Take a virtual field trip to the city’s Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and thank us later. It’s the oldest masonry fort in the nation and the best illustration of a Spanish colonial fort in the continental United States.
The virtual tour will allow you to check out the fort’s grounds and interior rooms, and from the upper gun deck, you can see the site from a vaulted perspective.
You’ll also get to see 3D models throughout the tour, which will allow you to get up close and personal with some of this fort’s most captivating areas.
You can fully engross yourself in the interesting spots of Colonial Williamsburg from anywhere in the world through virtual field trips and webcams which highlight the historic district.
On this virtual journey, you’ll learn how the structures were reconstructed and what artifacts decorate their walls as you stroll through the living-history museum in 360-degree virtual field trips.
You can also watch a series of webcams overlooking sites like Merchants Square or go on a virtual tour of the Governor’s Palace.
Have you ever experienced any of these virtual field trips? If so, please feel free to leave a comment to share your experiences with us!
If not… What are you waiting for? Grab your popcorn, find your favorite spot on the couch, and begin your adventure!
But if you wish to visit some of them in real life, check out the Top 10 Most Patriotic Small Towns to Visit for the 4th of July and you’ll even see some of the places we mentioned on our list!
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