Wouldn’t you love to show your kids the wonders of the world? The reality is that most of us don’t get the chance because travel is expensive and vacation schedules are short. Still, it’s a rare parent who doesn’t fantasize about holding a child’s hand while standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, or pointing out the marvels in a museum such as the Smithsonian.

Happily, you can take a dream trip by simply logging on and visiting the right websites. Obviously, a virtual vacation isn’t the same as the real thing, but if your goal is to awaken in your kids a curiosity about their natural and cultural heritage, these websites are a terrific option. If you are really lucky and you can experience your virtual trip on a mammoth-screen, high definition TV, it’s almost like being there! The only thing missing will be the smell of the zoo-doo and the aching tootsies from hours of walking!

Here are five virtual trips worth taking:

Tour the Smithsonian Museum.  If you’ve actually visited the Smithsonian, you know how overwhelming “America’s attic” can be. Start with the Museum of Natural History, where your tax dollars have been put to good use creating a 360 degree virtual tour that makes you feel like you are wandering around the museum (http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/). When your child spots something intriguing, he or she can ask for a close-up view of everything from dinosaurs, fossils, and mammals, to plants, insects, and gems. Younger children will also enjoy the Live Cams at the National Zoo (http://nationalzoo.si.edu).

Visit a National Park. (http://www.nature.nps.gov/views/index.cfm)  The National Park Service website is rich with visuals, as well as information about the ecology and history of the parks.  In addition to famous parks like the Grand Canyon and the Mall in Washinton, D.C., you and your kids can hang out in more remote spots such as the Badlands of South Dakota, Petroglyph Park in New Mexico, or the Timpanogos Cave in Utah.  The pages on the site load quickly, in part because they don’t include music or narration.   Read the short, but intriguing, captions aloud; it’s a good way for kids to keep classroom skills sharp. Your little adventurers will love the occasional game that pops up on some sites. If real travel is in your budget, use the website to plan a visit to a park—or to remember past trips.

Hike in the Woods. UPM, a multi-national forest products company, sponsors an extraordinary website that makes you feel as though you’re tromping through a forest. To access the site, go to www.upm.com and click on UPM Forest Life. Suddenly, bird calls fill the air. Is that a stream burbling in the background?  A guide will appear and offer to show you around, but you can also explore on your own by clicking hot spots that explain everything from fungi to forestry management.

Explore Earth. Planet in Action (www.planetinaction.com) enhances maps available at Google Earth to create vivid interactive tours of landmark sites. Check out the “Places” section of the website for tours of Mount St. Helens, Manhattan, and Paris Disneyland.  With a twitch of the mouse, you can zoom in at points of interest for a closer look. The site also includes flight simulation games for kids who find a simple tour “boooooring.”
You can also go straight to the source by downloading Google Earth 5 (http://earth.google.com/intl/en/), a richer version of GoogleMaps that allows investigation of almost any place on the planet, sometimes in amazing 3-D format.  Start by looking for familiar landmarks in your own community – your child’s school, the playground, or your own backyard.  Then branch out to the exotic, such as Tokyo, a Caribbean island, or the Serengeti.

Take a Moon Walk.  If exploring earth seems a bit mundane, try a virtual vacation that is, quite literally, out of this world. On the toolbar at the top of Google 5, there’s a tiny image of Saturn. Click on it, and you get a choice of studying the night sky, exploring Mars, or traveling to the moon.  On the lunar surface, Apollo astronauts offer a personal tour, explaining the craft they used for their historic flight, and pointing out their famous footprints.

Adult guides make these virtual tours more enjoyable for young children. Kids over ten can conduct their own expeditions. A parent can point them toward one of these sites and suggest they put on their travel guide hats and take the family on a tour of an exciting new land. Share a virtual trip to a place you’ve always wanted to visit and you have created your own mini, but memorable, vacation.