Jump Start Videos & Virtual Field Trips
How to use: For videos, think about one or two important things your child should learn by watching. Stop the video a few times and talk about these ideas. Even watch the video a second time and have your child then tell you about what he or she now knows.
For virtual field trips, together choose a place to explore. Talk together about what is seen or experienced or make a short list of amazing sights!
All Ages
Helpful Example! Good model for how to use these kinds of resources.
Description: Short videos with built in thinking and talking times. Students send in the questions and we get to vote on upcoming questions!
Getting started: Watch the current weekly video. Be sure to open the Bonus video, think along and sometimes an activity to try. To get access to more Mystery Videos, just recommend some friends by email.
Description: “Walk and hike” with park rangers as your guide to explore national parks and they’ll show you the secrets and hidden worlds in them that most people never get to see
Getting started: Watch the introduction then choose your park. Look around in 360 degrees to see every inch or foot of the different locations.
Explore our world, museums, farms, space and so much more!
Description: Travel around the world from your own home! Visit zoos, aquariums or a farm. See historical places and US landmarks. Go to national parks and museums. Visit famous places around the world like the Great Pyramids or the Largest Flower Garden. Even travel into space to the moon, Mars, our sun, the International Space Station or ride the space shuttle.
Getting started: Look at all the choices and pick a place to start. Take a few minutes to get familiar with how the site works. Have fun and talk about what you see. Ask questions and wonder!
Zoos around the country and around the world with live webcams
Live Animal Cams - 15 Live Zoo Cameras
Featured Aquariums and Zoos
Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams
Smithsonian National Zoo Live Cams
Pittsburgh Zoo Cheetah and Penguin Cams
Description: Watch real time video of animals all over the country!
Getting started: Choose a zoo or animal to watch. Be patient! These are animals just going through their day, not a TV show or movie. Take some time to watch what they do - 15 minutes, a half our, an hour while you play with other things, have a snack or eat lunch. Talk about what you see. Draw the animals. Take a look everyday and keep a journal looking for patterns of behaviors.
Description: Bald Eagles, Barn Owls, Snow Geese, Peregrine Falcons, Elk, deer and featured zoo cams are all right here in our own state!
Getting started: Choose a place or animal to watch. Think about why the animals might not be there. Does the season or time of day have something to do with it? Are the animals taking care of their babies or are they teaching them to survive somewhere else? Be patient! These are animals just going through their day, not a TV show or movie. Take some time to watch what they do - 15 minutes, a half our, an hour while you play with other things, have a snack or eat lunch. Talk about what you see. Find out more about these Pennsylvania animals and watch them every day.
Middle School and High School
Description: Free for a limited time, enjoy these hour long episodes from wild animals to domestic ones, prehistoric to aquatic animals, ancient people and places, architecture and engineering, biology, chemistry, computers, our planet, food and agriculture, geography, geology, great scientists, math, physics, space, weather, seismic activity effects and volcanoes.
Getting started: Choose a show, get comfortable and enjoy. Talk about what you are learning, together.