We love field trips, but sometimes organizing an excursion just can’t happen. Fortunately, we live in a time when technology can bring the excitement to us. The pandemic encouraged many zoos and aquariums to put in the effort to bridge the gap for visitors at home. As such, we’re able to share this list of 18 fantastic virtual zoo field trips, virtual zoo tours, and zoo cams you can enjoy from anywhere.
Best Virtual Zoo Field Trips, Virtual Zoo Tours, and Zoo Cams
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo has a “Watch and Learn” section on their website. Here students can check out the fantastic zoo cams including the burrowing owl cam, giraffe cam, elephant cam, and many more!
Atlanta Zoo
While the Atlanta Zoo’s zoo cam is dedicated to pandas, they offer many videos and activities that feature bird watching, sloths, lemurs, monkeys, and more!
Reid Park Zoo
Located in Tucson, Arizona, this zoo features a variety of delightful zoo cams designed to give kids a virtual zoo tour of the elephants, giraffes, grizzly bears, lions, and more.
Tembe Elephant Park
In a remote area of South Africa, you’ll find the Tembe Elephant Park. Renowned for having the largest elephants in the world, these zoo cams offer sights such as sand forests and wetlands, leopards, rhinos, and, of course, elephants.
GRACE Center
This extensive cam takes us inside the gorilla forest corridor in the Democratic Republic of Congo while connecting the habitat with the night quarters at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE).
Houston Zoo
Take a virtual zoo tour down to Texas and enjoy the live zoo cams set up by the Houston Zoo, allowing you to peer into the lives of giraffes, gorillas, elephants, and flamingos.
Explore the Arctic
Head to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to witness the annual polar bear migration. Discovery Education has teamed up with Polar Bears International to host a series that explores some of the biggest questions about the Arctic.
Oregon Zoo
Bring your virtual classroom to life with animals from the Oregon Zoo! Videos are aligned to different subject content areas listed on the page. New videos are also posted regularly on the zoo’s social media channels. A few times every week, they also go behind the scenes for a live interview with animal-care staff. Each live video is accompanied by a kid-approved activity related to the featured animal.
PBS Zoo Field Trip
Let’s all go to the zoo with PBS LearningMedia! At Zoo Miami, Penny and the KidVision VPK kids wash rhinos, feed giraffes, study a zebra’s stripes, and ride a camel. Lions and tigers and apes, oh my!
International Wolf Center
The cool wolf-pack cam live-broadcasts the adventures of four ambassador wolves: Denali, Boltz, Axel, and Grayson. The exhibit stretches across 1.25 acres and includes two dens, a filtered pond, and a forested area.
San Antonio Zoo
While San Antonio Zoo virtual field trips aren’t free (you pay a one-time fee or sign up for a low-cost membership), they’re very engaging. Enjoy virtual encounters with okapis, hippos, rhinos, and more!
Dallas Zoo
From a virtual zoo tour and chats with staff to showing what the animals are up to and posting activity ideas from their education and conservation teams, the Dallas Zoo’s Bring the Zoo to You web series is perfect for a virtual field trip!
Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo was the home of the late Steve Irwin, best known as the Crocodile Hunter. His wife, Terri, and children, Bindi and Bob, have continued his legacy. This fantastic YouTube channel offers captivating videos of some of the world’s most fascinating animals.
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
This virtual zoo field trip takes us to the nation’s capital. Check out animal zoo cams that share a glimpse into the daily lives of black-footed ferrets, naked mole rats, giant pandas, and more!
Chester Zoo
This British zoo has been going live on Facebook and YouTube to offer a fun and engaging virtual zoo tour packed full of fantastic facts and adorable animal antics!
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has created virtual zoo tour resources to support children’s learning for grades pre-K–12. The site offers online courses, family-friendly science activities, crafts and printables, and fantastic video lessons (in English and en español) to help young learners who are excited about ocean animals.
Georgia Aquarium at Home
These wonderful guided virtual tours through Georgia Aquarium’s galleries allow you to explore the chilly unknown in Cold Water Quest, be immersed in a world of colors as a tropical diver, and more!
New England Aquarium Virtual Tour
Enjoy a virtual zoo tour to the New England Aquarium and check out the projects and activities available to both educators and families. New zoo cam videos premiere on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
Did we miss one of your favorite virtual zoo field trips, virtual zoo tours, or zoo cams? Share it with us, and we might just add them to this list!
Also, check out the Best Field Trip Ideas for Every Age and Interest (Virtual Options Too!)
