East

Smithsonian Institution

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS ON THE EAST COAST

NOW THAT FIELD TRIPS HAVE ENTERED THE VIRTUAL WORLD, STUDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THE MOST FAMOUS MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS FROM THEIR OWN HOMES.

NEW YORK

The Bronx Zoo and Aquarium is now showing live cams of their most popular animal exhibit. The Zoo has live cams of the sea lion exhibit, the Madagascar exhibit and the aquatic bird house exhibit. The Aquarium shows their sea otter exhibit and the shark exhibit. They even have specific li e cams showing feeding times! The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the United States and houses over 20 online exhibits. Through their virtual field trips, tudents and art enthusiasts alike can learn about the complete history of the museum, look at famous fashion from throughout the centuries and learn about the art of music. They also offer 36 -degree videos of their most famous art pieces. The Corning Museum of Glass has been around since 1951, and is exclusively centered around glass. They are most famous for their narrated glass blowing demonstrations. They are now putting their special guest

Metropolitan Museum of Art

demonstrators and their best glass blowing techniques on their YouTube channel for students and anyone who is curious about the art of glass blowing.

MASSACHUSETTS

The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum offers the true Bo ton Tea Party experience right from the harbor. But the best part is that students can get that experience from anywhere in the world. They offer an enti ely virtual experience with historical reenactors

and a complete reenactment of the tea dumping. They also offer virtual ours of the Boston Massacre Trial, women of the American Revolution, anecdotes from the Boston Tea Party, and adventures at the sea in the 18th century. The EcoTarium in Worcester aims to teach students about natural sciences through hands-on experiences. They offer th ee diffe ent virtual education programs. They offer the animal ada tations program that discusses the evolution and the biofacts of animals. They also have their understanding weather program which discusses the Earth’s systems and climate change. They also have their invisible forces program which discusses forces of motion and energy.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia has only been around since 2017, but it is already making strides in the field. t has an entire virtual field tri experience: tours of the museum, artifacts and documents from the Revolutionary War and classroom kits with vocabulary questions that help students grades 2-8 to learn about the Revolutionary War. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg is an exhibit to teach and tell the stories of the railroads throughout Pennsylvania. The museum holds a worldclass collection, including over 100 railroad cars and locomotives. They have almost 30 online exhibits that allow people to view some of their most popular exhibits.

NEW JERSEY

The Morris Museum is the secondlargest museum in New Jersey. Some of the most popular exhibits in the Morristown attraction include fossil and natural science rooms. They are also showing minerals and textiles, a model train room, and a Native American collection. The museum’s website offers a virtual our of the museum, offerin 360-degree views of the exhibits.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

A collection of over 30 museums and libraries, the Smithsonian Institution has over 450 online exhibits about art, history, science and nature. The institution has been around since 1864, and it is now attracting a whole new audience with their virtual exhibits. Students can see permanent and specialty exhibits in addition to their most famous art and attractions, including the Alexander Hamilton exhibit that corresponded to the release of the musical Hamilton.

VERMONT

The American Precision Museum in Windsor offers ma y diffe ent virtual

Maryland Science Center

experiences for showing the history of precision manufacturing in the United States. They have an orientation fil online that goes through the history of the museum, their “Hall of Fame” members and a special behind-the-scenes exhibit that goes through some of the more rare artifacts.

MARYLAND

The Maryland Science Center in Baltimore is one of the oldest scientifi institutions in the United States. Their mission is to teach people about astronomy, zoology, botany and other natural sciences. This was their inspiration to start their “Science at Home” program, where they post DIY science experiments for kids and students to follow at home. These experiments go through multiple science topics, including physics, engineering, biology and chemistry.

MAINE

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland is a special year-round exhibit that changes exhibits to feature new and diffe ent artists throughout Maine. The center has virtual field trips on its ebsite to show past exhibits. They also feature videos by artists and by the center itself in addition to audio tours available that cover some brief history of the center.

DELAWARE

The Delaware Museum of Natural History in Wilmington strives to educate students on environmental and animal conservation. Their mission continues when the museum started their online “Delmnh At Home” exhibits and videos. They also post videos of their museum activities for students to watch and follow along. ■