It’s Friday, January 31, 2020, and time for a Virtual Field Trip. Take a look at the Field Trips listed below and let me know which one/ones you would like to take a look at and why.
Age Range: 5-18 (Grades 1-12, with parental supervision) Take a free virtual cruise on the oldest Mississippi River-style steamboat still in operation, the Belle of Louisville.
Watch the over 20-minute video that explores the history of river travel and steamboat life and tours the Belle of Louisville.
When you are done with the video, you can head over to the Belle‘s website to learn more about her history. Scroll down and click “View Our History” to see the timeline with pictures from 1914 to her 100th year anniversary.
Recommended Website: Goodyear Blimp
Age Range: 9 and up (Grades 4 and up; children with parental supervision) Most of you have seen photographs of the Goodyear Blimp flying over the crowd at a major sporting event. Some of you may have even seen the Goodyear Blimp as it travels through the skies overhead. Since 1925 it has been the giant airborn icon of the world’s largest tire and rubber company. Did you ever wonder what it would be like to get a close-up view of the Goodyear Blimp? Well, now you can!
When you get to the site, scroll down to the video to watch the building of Wingfoot One from start to finish. Then check out Behind the Scenes and Relive History from the top menu. Learn about the:
- Crew
- Bases
- Art of Flight (be sure to watch those videos)
- Blimp Science
- Blimp History – from the 1920’s to the 2010’s
Also see the Blimp schedule under News & Events to see if it will be flying near you any time soon.
Recommended Website: Photographic Tour of State Parks
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) At this website you can take “a photographic and informative tour” of the U.S. National Parks – from Arches to Zion! The photos highlight the geology and natural history of the parks.
When you get to the site, choose the area of the country you’d like to view:
- Four Corners Region
- Northwest
- Hawaii
- Southwest
- Upper-Midwest
- Northeast
- Southeast
Click on the area of choice and a new page opens with a list of parks in that area. Then each park has beautiful photographs, a map and text. And each has a Learn More button to dig deeper.
This is a terrific resource for budding geologists – and offers a great way to visit our national parks without leaving home!
Recommended Website: Mekong Lifeways
Age Range: 11-18 (Grades 6-12, with parental supervision) This set of online photo albums from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage provides a virtual tour of traditional lifestyles of people in the Mekong Delta region of Viet Nam.
The whole family can enjoy looking at the photos of the six different cities. When you get to the site, select a city from the six photos in the center of the page:
- Trà Niên
- Vinh Châu
- Trà Sết
- Long Định
- Phum Soài
- An Thuận
On each city’s main page, read the introduction at the bottom of the large graphic, then select a photo archive from the left-hand column. Once inside each photo archive, you need to read the information at the bottom center of the page, then navigate using the thumbnails across the *top* of the screen. (Don’t sorry, it’s easier then it sounds.)
Together this montage gives you a little taste for the variety that exists here, and a bit of an idea of what makes each of these six cities special.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
