71 Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos & National Parks

Hello sightseers! You found our list of virtual tours of museums, zoos and national parks!

Virtual tours are online experiences that enable visitors to view museums, landmarks, parks, and attractions through a computer screen. These tours use methods such as 360 picture view, satellite imagery, virtual reality, or video conferencing to bring famous sites into living rooms or classrooms. The purpose of these tours is to inspire, entertain and educate audiences.

These tours are one example of virtual field trip ideas and can be fun virtual team activities.

This post includes:

• virtual museum tours
• virtual tours of national parks
• virtual zoo tours
• virtual aquarium tours

And more fun cultural experiences too!

Forget about admission ticket stubs, because these all-access passes just require a device and an internet connection.

List of virtual museum tours

Here is a list of online museum tours that are perfect for adults, kits, employees and more.

1. Smithsonian

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers self-guided virtual tours of current and past museum exhibits, including narrated virtual tours, accessible via computer or smartphone. The Smithsonian offers virtual components for other of its institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of the American Indian as well.

Visit the Smithsonian.

2. British Museum

The British Museum hosts an online “Museum of the World” that enables visitors to browse exhibits by area of origin, era, and subject matter like power and identity or art and design. Each digital exhibit includes a picture, description, audio file, and links to related artifacts.

Visit British Museum.

3. Auschwitz

This virtual tour of Auschwitz offers a panoramic birds eye view of the camps, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau, along with clickable descriptions of each area. Virtual visitors can also switch to an illustrated map of the grounds to better understand the scope of the concentration camps. The online tour is available in both English and Polish.

Visit Auschwitz.

4. Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House online welcomes visitors from around the world with digital experiences such as videos, virtual reality secret annex tours, 360° photos of the Frank home, and translations of the diary in over 20 languages. Virtual visitors can also browse a pocket gallery by downloading the app.

Visit Anne Frank House.

5. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers virtual museum tours for students. The self-guided digital tour involves virtual scenes from nine museum areas such as Hall of Witness and the Hall of Remembrance as well as The Holocaust exhibit. The site offers free teacher resources and lesson materials, including a worksheet with an answer key.

Visit United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

6. 9/11 Memorial & Museum

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum website hosts a learn and explore from home feature which includes live, guide-led panoramic virtual tours of the rebuilt center, interactive videos, and webinar stories. The site also recommends activities to do at home with children to simulate the museum’s activity stations.

Visit 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

7. Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums provides an online experience consisting of 360° high resolution photos of over a dozen features such as the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms. The website also grants web access to archeological areas, various departments, and a searchable online catalogue.

Visit Vatican Museums.

8. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien in Austria hosts a digital museum consisting of an online collection, artist talks and lectures, podcasts and Spotify series, and high resolution images of works and galleries. The museum also has its own app that enables online walkthroughs, including specialty tours for children.

Visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.

9. National Museum (New Delhi)

New Delhi’s National Museum, often called the National Museum of India, displays possibly the largest collection of art and artifacts in the country. The institution’s Museum at Home web portal consists of dozens of videos depicting sculptures, artifacts, and customs, with accompanying cultural analysis from curators. The site also links to several 360° and 3-D virtual galleries that enable online walkthroughs of the building.

Visit the National Museum (New Delhi).

10. National Palace Museum & the Forbidden City (Beijing)

The National Palace Museum sits in the heart of Beijing and houses centuries worth of art and history. The museum building is a monument to classic Chinese architecture, as is the surrounding palace complex, the Forbidden City. Virtual visitors can tour works inside the museum and stroll through the outer courtyards by indulging in interactive and immersive virtual and VR tours. Both options give viewers the opportunity to explore the grounds up close without navigating the crowds.

Visit National Palace Museum and the Forbidden City.

11. Pergamonmuseum

Pergamonmuseum in Berlin contains a wealth of art and archeological treasures, and curators give home viewers a glimpse into the collections through several online exhibits on Google Arts & Culture. The collection includes over 1,000 images of objects made of clay, metal, copper, and gemstone, originating in regions such as Iran, Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

Visit Pergamonmuseum.

12. National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia offers free one hour digital excursions to schools that cannot visit the museum in person. The tours are available on weekdays between 9:30-10:30 am or at other times by request, and accommodate groups of 10-30 students. Classes meet with museum staff via Zoom and complete missions based around themes like the fight for indigionous rights. Virtual exhibition gallery tours are also available on occasion.

Visit the National Museum of Australia.

13. Louvre

The Louvre virtual tour consists of 360° panoramic views of exhibit halls such as Egyptian Antiquities and the ruins of the Louvre Moat. By downloading a special app, visitors can also experience Mona Lisa in virtual reality. The museum website hosts multimedia online exhibitions of famous works such as Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour and Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss, too.

Visit the Louvre.

14. Guggenheim

The Guggenheim offers staff facilitated virtual museum tours for students in grades K-12. Educators can book interactive, real-time tours for classes that engage students and enable question and answer sessions. Tours are no cost for New York City public schools, making them one of the best free virtual tours. For other districts the tours are less than $100, and discounted rates are available. Tours cap-off at 30 participants, meaning groups are sure to receive an intimate experience.

Visit Guggenheim.

15. Musée d’Orsay

The Google Arts tour of the Musée d’Orsay includes background and history on the museum building, as well as images, descriptions, and details of some of the museum’s most famous works such as Van Gogh’s Self Portrait, James McNeill Whistler’s Whistler’s Mother, and Bartholdi’s Liberty.

Visit Musée d’Orsay.

16. Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is a Dutch National Museum that hosts an impressive array of art and history. Rijksmuseum’s virtual tour, which includes a Rijksmuseum from home series, consists of high definition pictures, videos, and audio narration that details seminal works inside the museum. The virtual tour also includes interactive components such as a “find the key” challenge and creative tutorials.

Visit Rijksmuseum.

17. Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City launched a virtual views series which enables website visitors to browse rotating online exhibits. As part of the series, the MoMA site also hosts virtual events with components such as live Q&A sessions with artists and curators, readings and theatrical performances, 3-D renderings, and interactive games.

Visit MoMA.

18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met 360° Project is a collection of six wide-lens videos compatible with both virtual reality systems, or regular computer screens or smartphones too. Virtual viewers take a point-of-view tour of museum areas such as the Great Hall, the Met Cloisters, and the Arms and Armor Gallery, set to a soundtrack of instrumental music. The Met website also hosts an Art at Home series that offers up close virtual access and analysis to famous works, as well as videos of conservation projects and instructions for art projects.

Visit the MET.

19. Paul J. Getty Museum

The Google Arts & Culture virtual tour of the Getty Museum spans dozens of online exhibits with thousands of digital artifacts. Pieces span as far back as the eighth century until modern times, with notable pieces including The Virgin Mary with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Paul, Rembrandt Laughing, and Irises.

Visit the Getty Museum.

20. Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago facilitates online visits consisting of virtual video and audio tours, searchable online collections, digital publications, as well as online lesson plans and art projects. There is even an “Ask an Educator” form that enables parents or teachers to communicate with museum staff who hand-pick resources to assist with lessons planning.

Visit the Art Institute of Chicago.

21. National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.)

The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. website hosts digital perspectives, virtual exhibitions, and digital collections. Also worth noting, the online experience includes streamable films visitors can watch online. The site also includes family interactives and teacher resources for a more hands-on art immersion.

Visit the National Gallery of Art.

22. The National Gallery (London)

The National Gallery of London offers immersive virtual tours accessible via smartphone, computer, or virtual reality headset. Through three different remote tours, virtual visitors can explore multiple wings, 18+ rooms, and 300+ paintings. The Gallery’s robust social media presence promotes further interaction with online art.

Visit The National Gallery.

23. Uffizi Gallery

The Google Arts & Culture Tour of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence explores four online exhibitions and hundreds of pieces of arts and artifacts, many in the Renaissance style. Notable pieces include Birth of Venus by Botecelli, Portraits of the Duke & Duchess of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca, and Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael.

Visit Uffizi Gallery.

24. Frida Kahlo Museum

The virtual tour of the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City is one of the most colorful museum tours online. Virtual visitors tour various areas of the grounds in a 360°, up close experience. The colors of the architecture and artifacts are works of art in themselves, and sure to brighten viewers’ days. The website offers additional resources including downloadable photos, videos, quotes, and even recipes.

Visit Frida Kahlo Museum.

25. Tretyakov Gallery

The website for the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia, hosts virtual exhibitions including online games, research projects, educational websites, and a digital panorama of halls. Notable works include Trinity by Andrei Rublev and Morning in a Pine Forest by Ivan Shishkin.

Visit Tretyakov Gallery.

26. Russian Museum

The Virtual Russian Museum is a web portal consisting of several digital resources such as online lectures, virtual 3-D walk through tours of the museum complex with accompanying audio, and a multimedia center. The multimedia component of the virtual branch includes digital content and displays, broadcasts and video conferencing, and interactive web workshops.

Visit Russian Museum.

27. Tokyo National Museum

The Tokyo National Museum contains artworks and antiquities dating back several centuries, and displays over 100 digital images of textiles, clayware, ceramics, and similar artifacts on its digital Google Arts & Culture tour. During this remote museum tour, virtual visitors peruse Asian art and conduct Google Earth walkthroughoughs of museum galleries.

Visit Tokyo National Museum.

28. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

This Google Arts & Culture online tour of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea enables web visitors to explore multiple online exhibits, hundreds of pieces of modern artwork, and several floors of the building, including sections of the outdoor sculpture garden.

Visit the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

29. MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo has an impressive online presence with over 1,000 images of paintings, photographs, and objects in its Google Arts & Culture collection. Online visitors can delve into South American art and culture by exploring online exhibits and browsing through digital collections. The Google App also enables virtual reality tours of the museum via smartphone.

Visit MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo.

30. Space Center Houston

Space Center Houston offers free interactive virtual learning experiences like an online Apollo 13 exhibit, video series, and an app that offers mobile tours plus augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. The center also occasionally hosts virtual stargazing campouts and suggests at home science experiments and games. Plus, the website is a wealth of online outer space resources.

Visit Space Center Houston.

31. American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History suggests several options for virtual visits, including virtual field trips, an “inside the museum” high resolution picture tour, guided tours on Facebook live, and an expedition app experience that includes quizzes and exhibit highlights.

Visit American Museum of Natural History.

32. Oxford University’s History of Science Museum

The Oxford History of Science Museum website displays past exhibits so virtual visitors can learn more about concepts such as antibiotics, the human brain, and the Transit of Venus. The format of each online exhibit varies, but most contain, at minimum, sample images and descriptions.

Visit Oxford University’s History of Science Museum.

33. The National Museum of the United States Air Force

The National Museum of the United States Air Force provides digital resources such as self-guided virtual museum tours via an app, 360° photo cockpit tours, podcasts, and videos. The site also supplies lesson plans broken down by grade level, with extras like aircraft coloring pages and word searches.

Visit The National Museum of the United States Air Force.

34. The National Museum of Computing

The National Museum of Computing offers a comprehensive 3D virtual tour of the entire museum, with multiple touchpoints explaining the significance of fixtures. The online walkthrough enables a point-of-view, clickable dollhouse tour of the entire building, in one of the most real-to-life digital museum experiences around, containing a wealth of supplemental materials like videos, audio files, and documents. For a fee, the museum also arranges curated virtual tours that form a more personalized experience.

Visit The National Museum of Computing.

35. Boston Museum of Science

Boston’s premier science museum presents a Museum of Science at Home experience consisting of virtual exhibits, daily live streams, podcasts, town halls, and family STEM activities. The museum provides digital programs for both adults and children, with highlights including live social events, an ant colony webcam, and stimulating multimedia content.

Visit the Boston Museum of Science.

36. Glazer Children’s Museum

The Glazer Children’s Museum website hosts virtual experiences such as digital field trips and weekly facilitated live Zoom play sessions with educational themes like music and movement or STEM. The site also publishes content designed for anytime learning, such as instructional videos and blog posts that lead visitors through at-home art projects, science experiments, and storytime.

Visit Glazer Children’s Museum.

37. Children’s Museum Houston

The Children’s Museum Houston advertises an ongoing all-time access program that provides regular content such as 3-D digital field trips, virtual adventure camps, daily broadcasted project tutorials, webinar workshops, and video call-in shows. The museum also created a free smartphone app for additional at-home adventures.

Visit Children’s Museum Houston.

38. Children’s Museum Indianapolis

Children’s Museum Indianapolis provides a museum at home experience including ongoing virtual events, digital museum programs, follow-along hands-on activities, and virtual birthday parties. The museum also creates holiday-themed downloadable activity bundles and resources for teachers.

Visit Children’s Museum Indianapolis.

39. The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong museum in Rochester, NY, examines the history of playtime throughout recent history. Its online exhibits follow fun themes such as “Pinball in America”, “The History of Valentines”, and the Oregon Trail computer games. The online collection hosts a staggering 77,000 + images, many of which are designs for games throughout the decades.

Visit The Strong National Museum of Play.

40. Boston Children’s Museum

The Boston Children’s Museum website provides learning resources including weekly activities emails, Mad Libs, and links to mini digital museums and interactive apps. This section of the museum’s website has a wealth of tools to keep kids occupied for hours.

Visit Boston Children’s Museum.

List of virtual national park tours

Here is a list of national parks to visit online.

41. Joshua Tree

A virtual virtual to Joshua Tree includes video tours, readable web content, and photos and other multimedia. To captivate younger visitors, the park posts digital scavenger hunts, a junior ranger program, and guest speaker series. Educators can schedule virtual field trips with park rangers centered around topics such as plants and animals, rocks and minerals, and weather and erosion.

Visit Joshua Tree.

42. Zion National Park

An online visit to Zion National Park includes virtual hikes and shuttle tours, along with a free app that launches a historical exploration of the region. Web visitors explore the canyons in virtual reality from multiple vantage points, exploring the terrain from the comfort of the couch.

Visit Zion National Park.

43. Yosemite

Virtual Yosemite provides an aerial view of the park with zoomable scenic spots. The remote park tour also features a panoramic index for easy navigation to various locales within the preservation, but visitors can click through and rotate the views to explore more organically, as well. Virtual Yosemite presents high resolution images of a variety of landscapes, highlighting the geographical diversity of the land.

Visit Yosemite.

44. Bryce Canyon

While not an immersive experience, the Bryce Canyon virtual tour provides pictures and descriptions of locations along the trail so that virtual visitors can imagine hikes and plan future trips. The points of the online tour outline the landscape variety of the canyon, describing sights like Mossy Cave, Swamp Canyon, and Natural Bridge.

Visit Bryce Canyon.

45. Death Valley

This 360° virtual tour of California’s Death Valley National Park allows visitors to pan around the attraction’s various landscapes, from dunes to craters to canyons. Each spot contains a short description of the geography. The high resolution images create a virtual reality experience that immerses viewers in the environment.

Visit Death Valley.

46. Grand Canyon

This virtual tour of the Grand Canyon consists of 3D satellite images via Google Earth. Virtual visitors can rotate or click through trails, view the canyon from above, and navigate to photos of notable landmarks like Yavapai Point and The Abyss. High resolution pictures enable cyber sightseers to take in the views without the fear of falling.

Visit the Grand Canyon.

47. Redwood National Forest

Virtual tours of Redwood National Forest facilitate virtual reality experiences via smartphone or computer, where online visitors take in 360° canopy tours for a panoramic view of the forest. The site also hosts multimedia presentations that include narrated videos, documentaries, songs, and other educational materials.

Visit Redwood National Forest.

48. Hot Springs National Park

Exploring Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park from home is possible thanks to a collection of photography, suggested readings, and an aerial digital map. The latter presents a birds eye view of the bath house district with clickable panoramic views inside the buildings. These resources enable virtual visitors to learn about the region’s rich cultural past and recent scientific research.

Visit Hot Springs National Park.

49. Gateway Arch

Virtual tours of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis consist of a series of short pre recorded videos exploring the history of the region and the exhibitions within the park, along with livestream webcam views from the top of the arch. The park website features historical analysis and photo galleries too, along with a virtual stamp for visitor’s National Park Passport books.

Visit the Gateway Arch.

50. Niagara Falls

This panoramic tour of Niagara Falls presents rotating 360° photos of park vistas such as the Cave of the Winds, Prospect Point, and the river rapids. A short description accompanies each photograph, outlining background information about the scenic spots.

Visit Niagara Falls.

51. Everglades National Park

The Everglades National Park provides a robust selection of virtual experiences, including a 24/7 live wildlife webcam, short documentaries and educational videos, audio narrated virtual tours, and an official digital photography collection. The park website offers free curriculum for distance learning programs as well.

Visit the Everglades.

52. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

This online multimedia presentation guides virtual viewers through the islands and volcanoes of Hawaii. The virtual tour includes audio, video, and panoramic photography of volcanic cliffs, caverns, and rainforests. Web visitors can also explore an active volcano by joining a digital helicopter flyover and watching an eruption from the 1950’s.

Visit Hawai’i Volcanoes.

53. Table Mountain and Kruger National Park

National Parks exist beyond the US, and South Africa has stunning national parks. Discover Africa enables visitors to explore the sights of South Africa via immersive video and interactive panoramic photography accompanied by narration. Virtual visitors choose from five attractions, including Cape Town’s Table Mountain and Northern South Africa’s epic Kruger nature preserve. The digital experience constitutes a virtual safari that lets viewers experience the country’s diverse landscapes.

Visit Table Mountain and Kruger National Park.

54. Mount Everest

This digital rendering allows website visitors to scale the peaks of Mount Everest from behind a screen. The website is a 3D geographic model of the mountain with clickable descriptions for key peaks. While many folks will never climb Everest in person, they can explore the range from their living rooms through this immersive cyber expedition.

Visit Mount Everest.

55. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Located in Vietnam, Phong Nha-Ke Bang contains one of the world’s largest caves, alongside lush rainforests. Digital visitors trek through caves, viewing high resolution panoramic photographics and listening to realistic background sounds, an immersive experience that simulates the sensation of navigating the caves in person.

Visit Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.

56. Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park

For much of the world, Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park in China is more recognizable by sight than by name. Its steep, wooded cliffs appeared in movies like Avatar, and the landscape looks more like a film set than a natural occurrence. Website visitors navigate between explorable panoramic views to the sounds of instrumental music for a simultaneously captivating and calming web experience.

Visit Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park.

57. Namib Desert

This digital tour of the Namib Desert in Southern Africa gives viewers birds eye perspectives of dunes, parched plains, and rolling mist, plus vast starry skies. The high quality, panoramic images constitute virtual hikes through the vast landscape, sans the scorching heat of day or the freezing chill of nightfall.

Visit Namib Desert.

58. Banff National Park

A remote tour of Banff National Park in Alberta Canada consists of dozens of 360* videos showing scenes like snowy canyons, serene lakes at sunset, and mountainous trails. Though short, the videos enable you to pause and take in the scenery, and watching the playlist gives online visitors the benefit of viewing the park during multiple seasons.

Visit Banff National Park.

59. Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a coastal region of Italy renowned for its colorful hillside houses. In this experience, online visitors take a panoramic photo tour spanning the five towns of the coastline at various angles and times of days, set to a backdrop of calming music. The site also includes educational descriptions and an additional photo gallery.

Visit Cinque Terre.

List of virtual zoo tours

Here is a list of virtual zoos and aquariums that enable up-close online animal encounters.

60. San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo streams live cams of animals including polar bears, tigers, penguins, baboons, and koalas, and as well as hosting highlight archive footage of past panda cams. For a fee, the zoo also offers virtual programs that enable private online encounters with animals. The website also hosts an online directory of zoo animals and plants so that virtual visitors can learn more about the zoo’s exhibits from home.

Visit the San Diego Zoo.

61. Maryland Zoo

The Maryland Zoo hosts five live webcams: penguins, flamingos, lions, giraffes, and elephants, including giraffe and penguin feeding. The zoo also advertises a behind-the-scenes access experience, where up to eight guests per session can purchase tickets to join an animal on a live guided 20-30 minute virtual tour which includes back-and-forth conversation with animal caretakers.

Visit the Maryland Zoo.

62. San Antonio Zoo

The San Antonio Zoo arranges online meetings between virtual visitors and animals like hippos, giraffes, and rhinos for $100. For an additional $50 fee, guests can add a question and answer session with a zookeeper. Experiences are available Tuesday through Saturday. The zoo also offers online educational workshops.

Visit the San Antonio Zoo.

63. Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo website includes a variety of live webcams with stars such as rhinos, gorillas, flamingos, and elephants. Cameras are live between 7AM-7PM CST. The zoo also advertises live virtual experiences including web conference meet and greets with animals and virtual scavenger hunts. Notable digital offerings include an animal painting experience where guests watch a creature create art and receive a copy in the mail afterwards, and a Cameo video greeting to send to a friend.

Visit the Houston Zoo.

64. Cincinnati Zoo

The Cincinnati Zoo offers a home safari consisting of videos recorded during Facebook Live streams. Website visitors can browse through over 50 animal encounters and learn facts about creatures like red pandas, parrots, zebras, and orangutans. Online modules also include activities such as homemade birdfeeders and balancing exercises so kids can participate more fully in the virtual experience.

Visit the Cincinnati Zoo.

65. Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo streams live between 10AM-4PM, showing off visitor favorites such as sea lions and lemurs. The zoo also books out virtual wild encounters with creatures like cheetahs, alpacas, sloths, and warthogs, for prices ranging from $80-$150. Each session takes place over Zoom and allows virtual visitors to get up close to animals while asking caretakers questions.

Visit the Bronx Zoo.

66. Alaska Zoo

The Alaska Zoo presents a customizable distance learning experience through its virtual animal encounters and arctic discovery programs. Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes and costs $150, and includes interactive presentations and virtual visits with animals such as tigers, gray wolves, polar bears, or seals. A scheduled visit ensures the animals are unlikely to be camera-shy, creating a memorable and intimate online experience for students.

Visit the Alaska Zoo.

67. Singapore Zoo

The Singapore Zoo proposes a variety of e-learning options designed to enrich virtual classrooms. The website modules sort experiences by grade level, making it easy to choose an experience appropriate for your classroom. Students can explore topics such as zoology careers, reptile habitats, and African wildlife.

Visit the Singapore Zoo.

68. Oregon Zoo

The Oregon Zoo offers virtual encounters on platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and GoToMeeting. During these sessions, caregivers and animals such as armadillos, giraffes, elephants, sloths, and lemurs join virtual visitors for a 15 minute meet and greet. The two available daily time slots are at 10AM and 2PM PST.

Visit the Oregon Zoo.

69. Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium hosts ten live webcams featuring critters such as penguins, jellyfish, sharks, and sea otters. The variety of exhibits means that teachers can switch between streams when a particular camera is not lively. The aquarium also facilitates narrated feeding times on certain webcams during weekdays, with the feeding schedule posted on the site.

Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

70. National Aquarium (Baltimore)

The National Aquarium in Baltimore offers an interactive virtual map folks can navigate for an online tour. Virtual visitors can follow the arrows for a walk-through experience, or can click a menu of creatures like dolphins and sharks to instantly view anticipated animals. The aquarium website also hosts three 24/7 webcam livestreams, and offers purchasable guided virtual programs too.

Visit the National Aquarium.

71. Georgia Virtual Aquarium

The Georgia Virtual Aquarium allows online visitors to book a 10-20 minute guided virtual tour. Participants select a tour, receive viewing instructions via email, then enjoy up-close views of animals with educational insight. Online tour members get to view oceans, rivers, or sea creatures within an immersive virtual environment.

Visit Georgia Virtual Aquarium.

Conclusion

Although you may not be able to jet around the world at a moment’s notice to visit famous parks, zoos, or museums, you can learn about and enjoy these attractions from home or school by taking an engaging, interactive online tour.

These online experiences enable you to stare as long as you like, avoid crowds, learn more about a subject or piece instantly, and enjoy art, history, and nature from the comfort of your couch or classroom. Not to mention, at home experiences are a great way to educate and enrich children, coworkers, and yourself!

Next, check out our list of online classroom activities and this one with online volunteering ideas.

FAQ: Virtual Tours

Here are some of the common questions we see about virtual tours of museums, zoos and parks.

What are virtual tours?

Virtual tours are online galleries of famous attractions such as zoos, national parks, and museums. These experiences often consist of online exhibitions, videos, 360 degree and satellite photography, and virtual reality elements. Some tours may also include a facilitated live experience with a guide.

How are virtual tours useful?

Virtual tours are useful because they enable up-close access to real world locations. For example, the world’s most amazing artifacts, artwork, stories, monuments, natural wonders, and wildlife. While these tours lack the atmosphere of visiting physically, they have many benefits.

For example, technology allows visitors to travel to places they might not otherwise be able to see in real life, including VIP-area access and behind-the-scenes features. Not to mention, viewers can easily navigate to supplemental resources online to maximize learning. Plus, virtual tours are low-maintenance and low or no cost.

What are the best virtual tours?

Good virtual tours immerse visitors in a lifelike, interactive online environment. The best virtual tours include:

• British Museum
• Museum of Modern Art
• Frida Kahlo Museum
• The National Museum of Computing
• Boston Museum of Science
• Musée d’Orsay
• Rijksmuseum
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.)
• The National Gallery (London)
• Glazer Children’s Museum
• Joshua Tree
• Yosemite
• Redwood National Forest
• Table Mountain and Kruger National Park
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
• Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park
• San Diego Zoo
• Houston Zoo
• Monterey Bay Aquarium

These tours aim to capture and hold viewers’ interest and create interactive experiences.

What museums offer virtual tours?

Some museums that offer virtual tours are:

• Smithsonian
• British Museum
• Auschwitz
• Anne Frank House
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Vatican Museums
• Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
• National Museum (New Delhi)
• National Palace Museum
• Pergamonmuseum
• National Museum of Australia
• Louvre
• Guggenheim
• Musée d’Orsay
• Rijksmuseum
• Museum of Modern Art
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Paul J. Getty Museum
• Art Institute of Chicago
• National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.)
• The National Gallery (London)
• Uffizi Gallery
• Frida Kahlo Museum
• Tretyakov Gallery
• Russian Museum
• Tokyo National Museum
• National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
• Museu de Arte de São Paulo
• Space Center Houston
• American Museum of Natural History
• Oxford University’s History of Science Museum
• The National Museum of the United States Air Force
• The National Museum of Computing
• Boston Museum of Science
• Glazer Children’s Museum
• Children’s Museum Houston
• Children’s Museum Indianapolis
• The Strong National Museum of Play
• Boston Children’s Museum

Many other institutions also offer online components and at-home experiences to engage faraway guests.

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