There’s no tired like a teacher who’s been on a field trip tired! You’ll be happy to know that there are lots of great virtual field trips you can take your students on without the cost and travel of going in person. If you teach in Virginia, you likely already know how many amazing destinations we have right here in our state. Many offer virtual field trips for kids as well as virtual museum tours. Check out this list to get started!
Jamestown
Learn about Virginia’s first permanent settlement via an interactive map of historic Jamestown. Explore recovered artifacts, check out an interactive timeline, and see what’s been discovered. This is a great resource not only to explore Virginia’s history but also to learn about archaeology!
Colonial Williamsburg
If you can’t visit this living-history museum in person, check out virtual tours of the Governor’s Palace and art museum (including a scavenger hunt of the exhibitions). You’ll also find lots of videos and other educational resources about Colonial Williamsburg here. A must-see if you teach colonial history.
Mount Vernon
Take the Mount Vernon interactive tour to explore George Washington’s historic plantation home located on the Potomac River. You can visit the mansion, outbuildings, gardens, distillery, gristmill, and library. This is a helpful resource to learn about George Washington’s life as well as life in the Virginia colony.
Monticello
You can explore the inside of Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home near Charlottesville with a Monticello virtual tour.
Yorktown
Students can explore a 360 degree view of the location of the Battle of Yorktown, including clickable points of information and photos.
Frontier Culture Museum
The Frontier Culture Museum has a podcast and a number of video tours available to learn about rural life and culture for English, Irish, German, and West Africans who lived in colonial Virginia.
Fredericksburg
Check out a 360 degree virtual tour of the land where the Battle of Fredericksburg took place.
Appomattox Court House
NPS has made some photos available of the Appomattox Court House historic village. Definitely worth exploring if you teach lessons on the Civil War.
Schoolhouse Museum
Listen to an audio tour and view artifacts from The Schoolhouse Museum, an early 20th century one-room schoolhouse for Black students in Isle of Wight County.
Virginia Civil Rights Memorial
The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial in Richmond is a beautiful and powerful sculpture featuring Barbara Johns front and center.
Moton Museum
The Moton Museum website has a short video about the Moton High School student strike led by Barbara Johns. You can see some of the museum exhibits in the video.
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol offers tours of the inside of the Capitol building and its grounds. Take a quick digital field trip here to learn more about how Virginia state government operates.
Virginia Museum of History and Culture
Check out the VMHC’s virtual Google tour of its The Story of Virginia exhibit. You can also click through some of the paintings featured in the Landscapes of Virginia collection.
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Browse through digital resources from NPS, including a virtual tour, online exhibits, and a walking tour podcast about African-American bank president Maggie L. Walker.
Virginia Beach History Museums
VBHM maintains several buildings, two of which you can “visit” via virtual tours. Check out these two historic brick homes: the Francis Land House and the Thoroughgood House.
There are so many more historic sites, monuments, and museums in Virginia. I hope that more continue to add digital resources that we can access from the classroom or even at home! And keep in mind, you can also create your own free virtual field trip in Google Earth! Let me know what other ideas you have for virtual history field trips in Virginia!
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