Virtual Tours of the World

• Google Earth VR: Google Earth VR puts the whole world within your reach – walk, drive or fly around numerous destinations on earth.
• Live webcams from all around the world on Expore.org. Watch wildlife and the wonders of nature across the globe.
• Live virtual experiments, from genetic engineering to computer hacking, work your way through these virtual games on Nova Labs
• Minecraft – Create your own worlds!  Visit Microsoft Minecraft Education and enter your school email address (your username .309@lgflmail.net) to validate your account and then you will be able to download Minecraft for your device and start playing.

Museums

• Natural History Museum in London, a series of virtual tours connected to the exhibitions at the South Kensington museum.
• The Louvre: You don’t have to book a ticket to Paris to check out some of the famous pieces in the world’s largest art museum. The Louvre has free online tours of three famous exhibits, including Egyptian Antiquities.
• The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum. Click here to tour its various exhibitions.  Move at your own pace through the 360-degree room-by-room tour of every exhibit.
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: The works of Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Jeff Koons, and Franz Marc are just some of the 625 artists whose work are a part of the Guggenheim’s Collection Online.
• Van Gogh Museum: You can get up close and personal with the impressionist painter’s most famous work thanks to Google Arts & Culture.
• Getty Museum: Los Angeles’s premiere gallery has two virtual tours, including “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry,” which is a closer look at food in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
• The Vatican Museum: The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Raphael’s Room, are just some of the sites you can see on the Vatican’s virtual tour.
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Madrid’s must-see art museum has the works of some of the continent’s most celebrated artists like Rembrandt and Dali available online.
• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum: Six virtual exhibits are available online from this museum named for the “Mother of American modernism.”
• National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City: Dive into the pre-Hispanic history of Mexico with 23 exhibit rooms full of Mayan artifacts.
• British Museum, London: The Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies are just a couple of things that you’re able to see on a virtual tour of the museum.
• NASA: Both Virginia’s Langley Research Center and Ohio’s Glenn Research Center offer online tours for free. Also, you can try some “augmented reality experiences” via The Space Center Houston’s app.
• National Women’s History Museum: Have a late International Women’s Day celebration with online exhibits from the Virginia museum.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: Though the Met Gala was cancelled this year, you can still have a peak at the The Costume Institute Conversation Lab, which is one of the institution’s 26 online exhibits.
• High Museum of Art, Atlanta: This museum’s popular online exhibits include “Civil Rights Photography” — photos that capture moments of social protest like the Freedom Rides and Rosa Park’s arrest.
• Detroit Institute of Arts: Mexican art icon Frida Kahlo is the focal point of two of the four available online exhibits.
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: The Golden Age of Dutch art is highlighted in this museum which includes the work of Vermeer and Rembrandt.
• National Museum of the United States Air Force: You can’t take a ride in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential airplane, but you can check it out, in addition to other military weapons and aircraft, online in the Air Force’s official museum.
• MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art): New York’s extensive collection is available for view online.
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: The 16 virtual exhibits include a special section on 21st Century Designer Fashion.
• Harry Potter: A History of Magic – explore the wonders of the British Library exhibition.
•  The American Museum of Natural History, virtual tour also visit Ology, their science website
• Innovation Nation series from The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, USA
• Museo Galileo, in Florence Italy, has rebuilt its website with many activities and exhibits to interest students.
• The Holocaust Explained: Interactive exhibition from the Wiener Holocaust Library
• First World War 1914-18 – exploration of history of WW1 using augmented reality from LGFL
• The Met. Virtual tours of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, USA.
• The Olympic Games – their history and information around the athletes, the sports and the ceremonies in The Olympic Museum.

Zoos and Aquariums

• London Zoo: Webcams and live streams, as well as behind the scenes updates from London Zoo.
• The Cincinnati Zoo: Check in around 3 p.m., because that’s the time the Zoo holds a daily Home Safari on its Facebook Live Feed.
• Atlanta Zoo: The Georgia zoo keeps a “Panda Cam” livestream on its website.
• Georgia Aquarium: Sea-dwellers like African penguins and Beluga Whales are the stars of this aquarium’s live cam.
• Houston Zoo: There are plenty of different animals you can check in on with this zoo’s live cam, but we highly recommend watching the playful elephants.
• The Shedd Aquarium: This Chicago aquarium shares some pretty adorable behind-the-scenes footage of their residents on Facebook.
• San Diego Zoo: With what may be the most live cam options, this zoo lets you switch between koalas, polar bears, and tigers in one sitting.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: It can be Shark Week every week thanks to live online footage of Monterey Bay’s Habitat exhibit.
• National Aquarium: Walk through tropical waters to the icy tundra in this floor-by-floor tour of the famous, Baltimore-based aquarium.

Theme Parks

• Walt Disney World: Set aside some time, because there’s plenty to see here. Virtual tours you can take include Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot, just to name a few. There are also unofficial YouTube videos that feel just like you’re on famous rides like the Frozen Ever After ride, It’s a Small World, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
• LEGOLAND Florida Resort: The Great Lego Race and Miniland USA are just two of the attractions you can check out in a virtual tour of the park.
• SeaWorld Orlando: The virtual tour of Seaworld includes a tour of Discovery Cove and the option to”ride” the steel roller coaster Mako.
• Discovery Education, virtual field trips – select your own field trip through the  numerous different filters.

Stage shows and productions being streamed

• What’s On Stage, click here for a listing of stage shows, musicals and opera you can watch on line for free.
• Shakespeare’s plays from The Globe Theatre streamed for free
• Royal Opera House‘s programme of free online content for the culturally curious.

MOVIES

History, REP and Social Studies

There is plenty of inspiration to be found in these stories, some fictional and some true, that depict historical events or people.

• Schindler’s List. This story tells the heroic effort made by a businessman in Nazi Germany to save thousands of Jews from death.
• Gandhi. This biography tells the story of the famed leader of India, from his beginnings as a lawyer to his eventual embracing of non-violent protest to his assassination.
• The Duellists. Based on a story written by Joseph Conrad, The Duellists explores fencing as a means to induce justice and honor.
• The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck’s classic novel about life during the Great Depression is brought to life in this film, which has also reached classic status.
• Philadelphia. A lawyer fired from his firm because he has AIDS fights for his rights in this film.
• Mississippi Burning. Two FBI agents arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of civil rights activists and each uses their own approach to uncover the atrocities occurring.
• The Color Purple. Based on Alice Walker’s book, this film details the life and struggles of an African-American woman in early 1900s America.
• Hotel Rwanda. This film tells the story of real hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who saved thousands of refugees fleeing the dangerous militia that had taken over Rwanda.
• The Fog of War. Former Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara shares lessons he learned about modern warfare.
• Five Films for Freedom Five short films from BFL-Flare LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
• Black History – Kevin Hart – contributions of black history’s unsung heroes in an entertaining and educational comedy special
• And Still I Rise – Maya Angelou = poet and civil rights activist is celebrated in her own words with video footage of the civil rights movement.
• The Boy who Harnessed the Wind – based on a true story, William builds a wind turbine to save his Malawian Village
• Dunkirk – Follows the lives of all those involved in the evacuation of the British Army and their Allies from Dunkirk in May 1940
• Sarajevo – centred on the investigation into the assignation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which ‘triggered’ the beginning of WW1

Geography and Environmental Awareness

These stories of survival serve as an inspiration to any viewer.

• Hoot. A young man starts a fight to protect the owls whose habitat is threatened in his newfound home in Florida.
• Earth Days. This documentary takes a look at the modern environmental movement through nine individuals who helped bring the issue into the public eye starting as far back as the 1950s
• Up. This animated film deals with issues of urban sprawl, ecology, and responsible stewardship in the midst of a touching story about unexpected friendships.
• The Cove. This documentary takes a look at both the massive slaughter of dolphins that occurs annually in a small Japanese fishing village and the dangerous health impact of mercury poisoning.
• Silkwood. Based on a true story, this movie recounts the story of Karen Silkwood, an employee at a nuclear processing plant who blew the whistle on worker safety issues going unchecked at the plant.
• Gorillas in the Mist. Another film based on a true story, this one focuses on the work of Dian Fossey as she lived with and studied the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. After fighting against the illegal poaching of the gorillas, she was mysteriously murdered.
• An Inconvenient Truth: Former presidential candidate, Al Gore, campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.

Health and Personal Survival

Inspiring films about responsible care for our bodies and the environment.

• Super Size Me. See what happens when one man lives on only McDonald’s food for 30 days. You may be shocked to learn what a fast food diet does to your body.
• Erin Brockovich. Based on a true story, this film is about an ordinary woman who takes up a cause when she learns about dangerous pollution in the water.
• WALL-E. This touching animated film envisions a future that could be where modern culture takes itself without restraint.
• Food, Inc. The corporate culture that has taken over the food industry has created something far from healthy. This documentary has gotten lots of press recently.
• The Future of Food. Take a look at what is really in the food found on grocery store shelves in this eye-opening film.
• Be the Change. This documentary looks at people who have made the choice to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
• Shooting Vegetarians. A young vegetarian is forced to go into his father’s business as a butcher and finds a strange way to exact his revenge for it in this quirky movie.
• Into the Wild. A free-spirited young man heads off into the Alaska wilderness to try his hand at survival with devastating results.
• Alive. This movie tells the true story of a rugby team from Uruguay that must survive in the Andes mountains after a plane crash.
• Touching the Void. This true story follows two climbers as they scale Siula Grande in Peru, the disaster that occurs, and how the two survive.
• Swiss Family Robinson. Based on the novel by Johann David Wyss, this film tells of a Swiss family deserted on an island and their journey to learn to survive.
• Cast Away. A white-collar executive must learn to survive when he finds himself alone on a deserted island after a plane crash.

English

Bringing literature to life through film to inspire and appreciate.

• Romeo + Juliet. This popular film retells the Shakespeare classic and is a great way to bring the drama to life.
• Master Harold and the Boys. This drama written by South African Athol Fugard tells a semi-autobiographical story of a teenage boy and his relationship with a black man in the era of apartheid.
• Fahrenheit 451. A firefighter meant to burn all books begins reading a few of them and his eyes are opened to a new perspective.
• Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte’s novel comes to life in this film version.
• Macbeth. Like Romeo + Juliet, this film offers a modern version of the Shakespearean classic.
• A Streetcar Named Desire. This adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play is an excellent version brought to the screen.
• Dead Poets Society. This film provides a great chance to study the poetry mentioned within as well as show an inspirational film to.
• Freedom Writers. A high school teacher inspires her students to reach beyond their tough lives through writing.

Music

Broaden your musical knowledge with these movies.

• The Sound of Music. This famous and much-loved film about the Von Trapp family is a must-see.
• Woodstock. As much about history as it is music, this film chronicles the famous 1969 festival.
• Almost Famous. Following a rising rock band, a young man in high school writes a story for Rolling Stone Magazine on the band.
• West Side Story. The Jets and the Sharks are gangs at odds, but when a member of the Jets falls for the sister of the leader of the Sharks, the story really takes off.
• The Phantom of the Opera. Share this beloved story of a disfigured musician who lives hidden in the Paris opera house and his desire for a young woman.

Science, Computer Science and Technology

From a view of insects in their natural environments to a look at the beginnings to two major computer companies to fictional accounts of science and technology in action, these movies have it all.

• Microcosmos. This French film shows close-ups of insect life in their natural habitats.
• Manhattan Project. When a high school science project becomes larger than expected, chaos ensues.
• Pirates of Silicon Valley. This film provides a biographical peek into the early days of Microsoft and Apple and their founders.
• Project X. When a new recruit to the military is assigned to look after the chimpanzees in Project X, the military gets more than they bargained for.
• TRON. A hacker trying to prove that several computer programs were stolen gets transported into a computer, where he fights evil forces in an effort to replace them with a system security program.
• Antitrust. A computer whiz becomes unintentionally embroiled in a dangerous company.
• WarGames. When a young man accidentally hacks into the US government’s computer system, where he is invited to play a game that is actually initiating World War 3.
• Jurassic Park. Dinosaurs are brought back to life with dangerous consequences.
• Hidden Figures: Based loosely on the team of female African-American mathematicians who played a vital role in the Apollo moon mission.
• The Imitation Game: During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.

Foreign Language Films

Worthwhile and accessible films in a foreign language.

• Plan Couer Elsa, a Parisian, cannot forget her ex. Her best friend hires an escort to help her move on with her life.
• L’arnacoeur: French romantic comedy.
• Babysitting: French comedy film shot in the “found footage” style.
• Tout ce qui brille;  French domestic comedy, where two childhood friends enter into a world of luxury that is not their own.
• Elite is a Spanish thriller teen drama television series created for NetFlix.
• Las chicas del cable: a Spanish period drama, set in the 1920s of four women newly hired as operators for a phone company
• La Casa de Papel: An unusual group of thieves attempt to carry out the most perfect robbery in Spanish history.
• La Reina del Flow: A Columbian, Spanish language musical drama series for TV