Virtual Field Trips & Experiences
Virtual Field Trips
Ready to explore our exhibits from school or home? Our virtual field trips are in-depth tours of our featured and permanent exhibits through video walkthroughs, expert interviews and immersive content, all aligned with OH and KY content standards.
These pre-recorded experiences can be accessed on your schedule and are designed for students to explore with their teacher in a guided format or on their own. Coming on a field trip to Cincinnati Museum Center? Use our virtual field trips as a pre- or post-visit experience to deepen learning and connections.
Available tours include:
Maya: Daily Life & New Discoveries
Immerse yourself in the genius of the Maya. Theirs was a civilization of astronomers, mathematicians, inventors and gods. Discover how the Maya live on today – in their inventions that continue to shape our daily lives and in the millions who carry on the Maya tradition in language and lineage.
Maya I covers an introduction to the Maya people; daily life and agriculture; the rise and fall of the Maya people; breakthrough discoveries from the University of Cincinnati; and how the Maya culture is still with us today.
This experience is designed for grades 5 through 7, but also contains engaging content for younger students (grades 3 and 4), high school students and adults.
Maya: Royalty, Art & Cosmic Balance
Immerse yourself in the genius of the Maya. Theirs was a civilization of astronomers, mathematicians, inventors and gods. Discover how the Maya live on today – in their inventions that continue to shape our daily lives and in the millions who carry on the Maya tradition in language and lineage.
Maya II covers an introduction to the Maya people; cosmic balance – gods/goddesses and divine kingship; art; writing; timekeeping; and how the Maya culture is still with us today.
This experience is designed for grades 5 through 7, but also contains engaging content for younger students (grades 3 and 4), high school students and adults.
Dinosaur Hall
Meet Galeamopus and Torvosaurus, both of which are new to science. Learn what we know about the Jurassic environment from the plants and animals that lived alongside the dinosaurs. Experience how dinosaurs adapted to thrive in their environments. Make your own discoveries through careful observation and meet scientists and the tools they use to study fossils.
This experience is designed for grades 4 through 8, but also contains engaging content for younger students (grades 2 and 3), high school students and adults.
The Cave
Venture into our famous Cave exhibit for a look back in time to tell the story of limestone cave formation. From waterfalls and stalactites to fossils and troglobites, discover all the features in the Cave’s twists and turns. Meet cave residents, explore geology and see how environments change over time.
This experience is designed for grades 2 through 7, but also contains engaging content for 8th grade and high school students, and adults.
Made in Cincinnati
Meet the city's inventors and laborers, the products they developed and the markets they transformed. From Porkopolis to the Queen of the West to tomorrow's modern tech hub, discover how innovation is, and always has been, in Cincinnati's DNA.
Public Landing
The Public Landing recreates a city built on innovation and determination with historic shopfronts, dynamic soundscapes and a peek inside the interior of an 1850s steamboat – the Queen of the West. Learn how Cincinnati is a city of immigrants and transplants, a city whose defining features are inspired by the diverse population who have called it home.
Shaping Our City: First Settlement to 1920
Venture through time to explore the Cincinnati region from before the 1700s to 1920. From canoes and flatboats, to steamboats and trains, to inclines and streetcars, discover how Cincinnati’s transportation story has changed and is still being written. Explore historic vehicles and objects, maps, photographs, media and interactive elements to see how Cincinnati’s urban design has both connected and divided the city and its people.
This experience is designed for grades 2 through high school, with engaging content for adults.
Shaping Our City: 1920 to Today
Venture through time to explore the Cincinnati region from 1920 to the present day. From trains and cars to hyperloops and rideshare systems, Cincinnati’s transportation story is still being written. Explore historic vehicles and objects, maps, photographs, media and interactive elements to see how Cincinnati’s urban design has both connected and divided the city and its people, and peek into the future at what the next transportation breakthrough may be.
Neil Armstrong Space Exploration Gallery, presented by the Harold C. Schott Foundation
Investigate lunar cycles, explore Neil Armstrong’s journey to the moon, imagine what today’s Artemis missions will accomplish, and discover how views from space help us navigate climate change.
Coming soon:
Ice Age Gallery
The sights and sounds of the Pleistocene transport you back in time as you discover what the region looked and felt like over 23,000 years ago. New scientific research articulates the impact of humans on our environment and climate change, illustrating how ecosystems, biodiversity and landscapes change over time – and why our current period of change has some unexpected and dangerous precedent.
For virtual field trips and experiences from the Holocaust & Humanity Center, visit http://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/virtual-offerings/
Science Interactives Gallery, sponsored by P&G
Ever wondered how a tornado forms, how you can lift your weight, or what happens when push comes to pull? Explore simple machines, potential and kinetic energy, and how energy can move “unseen” through our world. Physical science has never been so fun!
This experience is designed for grades 4 through 7, but also contains engaging content for younger students (grades 2 and 3) and high school students.
Cincinnati in Motion
Cincinnati in Motion, one of the best-loved galleries in the Cincinnati History Museum, has returned in a refreshed and renewed space. The main display is now open, featuring the Ohio River and downtown Cincinnati, with additional displays opening in 2020. The renovated gallery will offer a welcoming and exciting introduction to the Cincinnati History Museum, with cleaned and repaired historic S-gauge train models, new lighting, new sounds and more opportunities to interact with historic and updated content.Access Virtual Field Trips Now
Virtual field trips are free to access.
Access Virtual Field Trips here: virtual.najwc.com
How to Navigate a Virtual Field Trip
Virtual Field Trips Experience Guides
Virtual Field Trip Learning Standards
- Maya: The Exhibition Tour I Learning Standards
- Maya: The Exhibition Tour II Learning Standards
- Dinosaur Hall Learning Standards
- The Cave Learning Standards
- Made in Cincinnati Learning Standards
- Public Landing Learning Standards
- Shaping Our City: First Settlement to 1920 Learning Standards
- Shaping Our City: 1920 to Today Learning Standards
- Neil Armstrong Space Exploration Gallery Learning Standards
Educator's Guide
Find everything you need to know about educational programs, field trip planning, professional development and other educational opportunities that are offered at Union Terminal as well as in the community in our Educator’s Guide.
DOWNLOAD NOWThank You to Our Supporters
CMC’s virtual field trips were made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services grant CAGML-248047-OMLS-20. Additional support was provided by the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation and the Robert C. & Adele R. Schiff Family Foundation.
