Virtual Touring with Lori and Sarah – The Wanaque Public Library

Our intrepid Library Assistant Lori may be staying at home with her daughter Sarah, but they’ve been doing a lot of traveling on the computer! Here is a list of virtual tours and videos that Lori and Sarah have enjoyed. They encourage you to travel safely and enjoy your day.

June 17, 2020

This week we decided to do a virtual visit to the American Girl Place in New York City. Sarah was so excited to see the nail salon, and all the different sections for each doll. You and your doll can get pierced ears!!

Then we took a tour of the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in the United Kingdom. He’s the author of James and the Giant Peach and Matilda, along with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and a lot of other books. We learned about his childhood, his love of chocolate and pranks!! We also learned that he was a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War 2. Sarah said that she thinks it would be a great place to visit!!

June 10, 2020
All you animal lovers are going to be really excited about explore.org, a website that has links to animal cams from all around the world. We watched pandas, eagles, puffins, jellyfish and many more!! Sarah’s favorite webcam showed the horses at the Kentucky Equine Adoption Center.

Then we toured The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (physically located at Universal Studios Hollywood). Sarah was amazed by how well everything was recreated!! It’s all there – Platform 9 3/4, the train, Honeydukes, the bus and Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry!! The virtual tour was great, and Sarah can’t wait to see it in person.

June 4, 2020
This week we took an amazing tour of a recycling center. We were amazed at all the machines that sort the recyclables and how complicated it is! Sarah decided that’s NOT what she wants to do when she grows up!!

Then we took a tour of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, led (virtually) by Park Ranger Angela Crenshaw. Harriet Tubman was a very accomplished woman – an escaped slave, abolitionist, Civil War spy, and champion of womens’ right to vote. Sarah was amazed by all the work this phenomenal woman accomplished. This tour was a little long, but we enjoyed it a lot.

May 29, 2020
This week Sarah and I were in the mood for chocolate, so we took a virtual 360-degree tour of the Mars plant to see how M&M’s are made. We were surprised to find out that the plant is in Hackettstown NJ, and it’s the longest running factory in the world. Then, of course, we ate some M&Ms to celebrate.

Hey, batter, batter batter, hey batter! On our next tour we got our game on by taking a 360 degree virtual tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. Sarah couldn’t believe the uniforms they used to wear!! And I was thrilled to see photos and read stories of the players that my parents used to talk about!!

May 18, 2020
Sarah and I did a virtual dive with sea lions in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. We liked watching the playful sea lions. The colorful fish and coral were amazing. The best part is that you don’t even have to swim to see it!!

Sarah’s favorite president that she has learned about so far is President Lincoln. We decided to take a kid’s tour of the Lincoln Memorial, where we learned a LOT of information about Honest Abe. Then we did a virtual field trip to the Lincoln Memorial, where we got an idea of just how huge the statue of our 16th president is.

After all this touring, we had to have a snack and lie down for a rest! Travel safe! — Lori and Sarah

May 6, 2020
Have you ever heard of Potato Chip Rock? Once we heard the name, we had to check out this 360-degree tour of Potato Chip Rock in Poway, California. We got an unexpected giggle at the beginning of the tour because the first stop was the public bathrooms!

Then Sarah said she wanted to see some spring flowers, and where better to visit than the tulip capital of the world, Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam. We were amazed by how many different colors we saw in this display of over 50,000 flowers, including tulips, grape hyacinths and crocuses. Do yourself a favor and visit this amazing place (while staying socially distant!)

For our last tour we decided to do something different, so we zoomed across the country to Seattle and toured the Museum of Flight. They have 12 different virtual tours available, including the Concorde, several different models of Boeing aircraft including a Dreamliner and a B-29 Superfortress bomber, and the Antonov AN-Colt. Sarah’s favorite, though was the NASA Space Shuttle Trainer. These tours were amazing!! Safe travels, we’ll see you next week. — Sarah and Lori

May 1, 2020
“Hooray for horses! This week we did an extensive tour of the Kentucky Derby Virtual Museum. Sarah really liked learning about Triple Crown winner Secretariat, and you can learn how they make those amazing rose garlands and how they care for and feed the horses.”

“Next we headed across the country to the San Diego Zoo. They have cameras set up, so we spent a lot of time checking in with all the animals. We hung out with pandas, a koala, nesting owls, condors, penguins, a rhino & a polar bear!! Sarah couldn’t pick what she liked best!! There were even 2 video cameras on some cute tiger cubs, plus a video on toucans, and some crafts and games. It was an enjoyable way to spend a dreary rainy afternoon.”

Week of April 20, 2020
“This week we decided to take a kid’s tour of the Statue of Liberty. It’s a fact-filled tour that lasts about 4 minutes. Sarah wished it had been a little longer, but it kept us both entertained! https://youtu.be/usHRc7G0gVo

After seeing the tour of the Statue of Liberty, we both wanted to see the White House. The best tour we found is through a free app (you can find it in the Google Play store or App Store if you have an iPhone – search for WHExperience.) The app includes great features such as a tour for kids (Sarah said that she can’t wait to live there when she’s president!), a 55 minute tour, and even two games – Fly Like Ike and Presidential LookAlike, which tells you which president you most resemble. (Yes, I played Presidential LookAlike. No, I will never tell you which president I most resemble!) Both Sarah and I really enjoyed this free app.”

Week of April 13, 2020
Sarah takes riding lessons and is a big fan of horses, so she and her mom decided to learn more about the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses. What kind of training does it take? This short video about the huge, majestic beauties was really interesting. They also watched a 360-degree tour of the stable that houses the famous Clydesdales — which is so fancy, it even has a chandelier!

After their tour with the horses, they decided to do something that is out of this world! So they took a tour of the surface of Mars. This 360-degree tour is a collaboration between NASA and Google, and features the landscape of Mars as seen by the Mars Curiosity Rover. Sarah was so happy with this tour, she wants to see the moon! https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

Week of April 6, 2020
Tennessee Aquarium’s Secret Reef Cam – tnaqua.org
Sarah says, “We really enjoyed the virtual dive with sharks, turtles, stingrays and fish when we checked out the Tennessee Aquarium’s Secret Reef Cam. You can also check out what the penguins and the river otters are doing, because they have web cams too!”

The Strasburg Railroad – strasburgrailroad.com
Both Lori and Sarah were impressed by the Strasburg Railroad website. It has 9 different virtual 360 degree tours. Engine 475, Open Air Platform, Open Air Car, First Class Lounge, Coach Car, Dining car, First Class Parlor Car, and President’s Dining and Observation Cars. All of the tours were good. We couldn’t believe that the first class lounge car had air conditioning, beautiful ceiling fans, and comfortable chairs!!

Raft down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon without leaving your chair! If you need a little excitement, Sarah and Lori definitely recommend taking a virtual rafting trip through the Grand Canyon – a site provided by the U.S. Geological Survey www.usgs.gov. “We enjoyed the first tour, which showed the first 43 miles of the Colorado River. We are looking forward to finishing the series on rafting.”

During our travels on the Internet, we discovered a Canadian website called FarmFood360 – farmfood360.ca. Their site includes a 360-degree tour of a pig farm, plus a short video. “Since we both love animals it was a no brainer that we would enjoy “Caring for pigs.” It was short but informative, and perfect for kids,” Lori said. The FarmFood360 site also includes 360-degree tours of a dairy cow farm, a sheep farm and an apple orchard.