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A virtual field trip to London, England

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A virtual field trip to London, England

A virtual field trip to London, England ~
Written by Jamie Martin of Simple Homeschool

Nearly three weeks ago our family flew across the ocean to England. My husband Steve grew up in York, so much of our time has been spent up north visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins as part of our itinerary.

But we first stopped in London, a city we had never before explored as an entire family. It’s definitely a busy, bustling place (a bit much for the introverts among us after a couple of days!), but we wouldn’t have missed this chance to take in the sites together.

Because I’m passionate about helping all of our kids (yours and mine!) fall in love with the world, I always get to thinking about my readers when we travel.

How can I offer you a snapshot of where we are without you having to board the next flight? Another virtual field trip seemed like the best possibility, so gather your kids around the coffee table and come along!

A Virtual Field Trip to London, England

Stop 1. Buckingham Palace

Screen Shot 2015-06-15 at 6.32.30 AM Photo by shining.darkness

Head to Buckingham Palace on Google Maps

FACT: Buckingham Palace’s 700+ rooms make up the primary home and workplace for the British Monarchy.

Take a tour of Buckingham Palace:

(5 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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Learn more about Buckingham Palace:

Stop 2. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

big ben
Photo by S Pakhrin

Head to Big Ben on Google Maps

FACT: When someone says “Big Ben,” they are usually referring to the entire clock tower, but originally the name was just given to the bell itself.

Take a tour of Big Ben:

(7 minute video – click photo below to watch)

Screen Shot 2015-06-15 at 7.00.38 AMLearn more about Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament:

Stop 3. Tower of London

IMG_9407

Head to the Tower of London on Google Maps

FACT: William the Conquerer first began construction on the Tower of London, his royal residence and defense system, in the early 1080s.

Take a tour of the Tower of London:

(4 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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See the Crown Jewels:

(4 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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Learn more about the Tower of London:

Stop 4. The British Museum

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Photo by Martin Pettitt

Head to the British Museum on Google Maps

FACT: The British Museum houses over 8 million(!) artifacts of history and culture from all continents.

Take a tour of the British Museum:

(22 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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Learn more about the British Museum:

Stop 5. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 7.17.35 AM Photo by D-Stanley

Head to the Globe Theatre on Google Maps

FACT: The current Globe Theatre on the bank of the Thames River is a replica of the original, first built in 1559.

Take a tour of the Globe Theatre:

(4 minute video – click photo below to watch)

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 7.22.33 AMLearn more about the Globe Theatre:

Stop 6. Westminster Abbey

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 3.06.53 PM Photo by Gian Cornachini

Head to Westminster Abbey on Google Maps

FACT: Westminster Abbey has hosted British coronations, burials, and weddings for centuries.

Take a tour of Westminster Abbey:

(2 minute video – click photo below to watch)

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 3.14.00 PMLearn more about Westminster Abbey:

Stop 7. Churchill War Rooms

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Photo by Heather Cowper

Head to Churchill War Rooms on Google Maps

FACT: During World War II the British government commanded the war effort underground from the Churchill War Rooms.

Take a tour of the Churchill War Rooms:

(1 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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(2 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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Learn more about the Churchill War Rooms:

Stop 8. The London Eye

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Photo by Nathan O’Nions

Head to the London Eye on Google Maps

FACT: The London Eye was originally built just to celebrate the new millennium, but has been granted permission to stay up for at least 25 years.

Take a tour on the London Eye:

(3 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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Learn more about the London Eye:

Stop 9. The National Gallery

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 3.59.05 PM Photo by Maurice

Head to the National Gallery on Google Maps

FACT: The National Gallery houses over 2,000 paintings and is the fourth most visited art museum in the world.

Take a tour of the National Gallery:

(2 minute video – click photo below to watch)

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Learn more about the National Gallery:

Stop 10. The HMS Belfast

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 4.11.36 PM Photo by Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Head to the HMS Belfast on Google Maps

FACT: The HMS Belfast, now a museum open to the public, engaged in several campaigns during World War II.

Take a tour of the HMS Belfast:

(2 minute video – click photo below to watch)

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 4.17.00 PM

Learn more about the HMS Belfast:

And to take your learning one step further, why not make the last stop on our trip your local library?!

Children’s Books Set in London:

In case the book images aren’t showing up for you, here’s the list:

The best part of virtual field trips? No jet lag! I hope you have enjoyed this virtual field trip to London–thanks for tagging along!

“The man who can dominate a London dinner-table can dominate the world.”
~ Oscar Wilde

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!

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About Jamie C. Martin

Jamie is an introverted mom of three, who loves books, tea, and people (not always in that order), and avoids answering the phone when possible. She co-founded SimpleHomeschool.net in 2010 and began IntrovertedMoms.com in 2020.

Jamie is the author of four books, including Give Your Child the World (reached #9 on Amazon's Top 100 Best Sellers list), and her latest release, Introverted Mom (an ECPA bestseller). Her work has been featured by LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow, the Washington Post, Parents, Today Parenting, and Psychology Today.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy

    Wow! Thanks! My family has enjoyed “traveling” on your Little House trip and now London!

  2. Jo

    I love this – thank you for putting it together. My kids will certainly enjoy a virtual tour of London. We actually live quite close to York, but have yet to venture to the capital city with our three boys! 🙂 I love reading your blog and want to say a big THANK YOU for sharing all of these wonderful resources!

  5. Maggie

    AH! I’m totally geeking out over this! I have tried to do something similar with my own blog (a Visit to the Greek Museum in Chicago and then a post about my daughter’s favorite mythology books). I’m going to get my kids together and “take them” to London this week. This rocks!
    Maggie’s latest post: Lettering…

  7. se7en

    Oh we totally love this post… love it, it brings back so many happy memories!!! We spent a couple of weeks in London a couple of years back we got into the rhythm of an museum in the morning, lunch and a rest in the one of the beautiful parks and then exploring different areas, doing neighborhood walks in the afternoons and finishing off with interesting street food before bed. So many wonderful museums that are free, hands on and child friendly we couldn’t believe it. Quite a few times I wished we had paper and crayons in our backpacks for making rubbings – but we have got much better at packing what we need for touring about!!! Anyway thanks for the fabulous trip… love it!!!
    se7en’s latest post: Se7en’s Fabulous Fun Post #280

  9. Aubrey R

    Thank you x1000! What a great resource for us, both for my youngest who I homeschool (and so always need interesting learning ideas) and my oldest who is obsessed with Sherlock (current version) and so has declared a trip to London as required.

  10. emily

    This is just great! I just pinned your post to use this next year in homeschool, when we will be studying renaissance times and shakespeare. Thank so much for this resource!

  13. Charlotte

    this is one of the best educational resources! I love the Virtual Field Trip Premise! Do you have others? Will you be doing more?