Now that Premier Stephen McNeil has announced all Nova Scotia’s public schools will stay closed for at least another month with all exams and school trips cancelled, perhaps now is the time to take the family on a virtual field trip.

Caleigh Alleyne is an editor with Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine and recently compiled a list of seven virtual trips as a travel-inspired remedy to combat COVID-19 boredom for kids.

“We’re living in this time where we are very fortunate that a lot of the cultural institutions and museums and attractions have social media channels, online resources that can really help you navigate through them and watch all the livestreams and feel like you’re in that place,” said the travel journalist.

Top on the list is a visit to the number one Zoo in the world, The San Diego Zoo. The world-famous zoo has over 3,500 rare and endangered animals. The website offers educational activities, and even a live video stream of the zoo animals.

“They actually have a whole kid’s portal that has games, activities and a livestream to see all the animals” said Alleyne, “So my nephew and I actually shared screens so we got to watch the giraffes all play around and that was really fun.”

For the family that wants to travel back in time, Alleyne recommends the Canadian Museum of History website that features a variety of digital exhibitions but also a chance to explore the virtual playhouse and children’s museum.

“There’s everything from vintage board games to hand-painted trains and I feel like that’s a nice launching point to talk about the history of Canadians and how we used to live and then compare them to the toys that we’re playing with now.”

Rounding out the list was a walking tour of The Great Wall of China and STEM-based learning from NASA TV.

Alleyne also gave honourable mention to The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and their Family History Centre.

“So they’re definitely a great one to reach out to if you want to use this time to bond with your family, but also learn about your family. Recently I was able to trace back to the boat my great-great-grandfather had come in on.”

For the full list of virtual field trip recommendations you can check out enroute.aircanada.com

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