We use cookies to improve your website experience. Essential cookies are required for the site to function properly, while analytics cookies help us understand how visitors use our site to make improvements. You can choose to accept all cookies or only the essential ones.
Live Virtual Field Trips
Investigate the most active volcano in the Cascades in a live, interactive, and thought-provoking virtual field trip!
Whether to supplement your visit the mountain in person, or if an in-person visit is not feasible, our virtual field trips offer a unique opportunity to explore the volcanic landscape of Mount St. Helens in an interactive 360-degree virtual environment!
Mount St. Helens Institute virtual field trips align with Next Generation Science Standards, are directed by student observations and come with ready-to-use lessons plans for before and after your live guided session. Our virtual field trip package combines synchronous and asynchronous segments for an immersive learning experience.
Virtual field trips are designed for classes, youth groups, scout troops and other groups. If you have a custom need, please contact our education team.
Overview
Offered Seasonally: January - March
Live Field Trip Duration: 1 hour
Suitable for: Students grades 4-8, youth groups, scout troops and other groups
Cost: $150 per group, up to 30 participants. Financial assistance is available for qualifying groups.
Virtual Field Trip Package includes:
- A pre-field trip lesson complete with a lesson plan, pre-recorded videos, and an activity;
- A 3-part virtual field trip in a 360-degree virtual environment that students can explore asynchronously;
- A copy of student or participant responses from the 360-degree virtual environment that can be used for assessment and a record of participation;
- A LIVE session in the 360-degree virtual environment led by one of our expert and inspired educators;
- A post-field trip lesson that builds on what students saw and thought about during the field trip; and
- Access to the virtual field trip environment for the remainder of the school semester (fall and spring sessions).
For a shareable PDF flyer, click here.
FAQs
WHAT WILL MY STUDENTS BE DOING BEFORE THE LIVE SESSION?
Our pre-field trip activity includes pre-recorded videos about the 1980 eruption and a follow-up activity to review the events of the 1980 eruption. OPTIONAL: We provide links to the 360 virtual field trip space for students to explore field sites around Mount St. Helens in advance of the live session. This allows students time to explore the virtual field trip space at their own pace.
WHAT WILL MY STUDENTS BE DOING DURING THE LIVE SESSION?
A Mount St. Helens Institute educator will lead your students on a tour of various field sites around Mount St. Helens in the virtual 360 environment. This session is hosted on a video conferencing platform of your choice. At each field site, students will be asked to make observations, draw, and explore photos, video, and other media that provide evidence to learn about processes that shape the site.
Our field trips are designed to minimize lecture time and to maximize time for students to make observations, practice scientific thinking, and engage in group conversations. Our educators will be the “guide on the side” as your group visits each site together, shares what they notice and what they think about it. There will be time for Q&A.
Our educator will lead a slightly different program depending on whether students have or have not explored the virtual field trip space in advance of the live session.
Our 360 virtual field trip space is built from 360-degree photos and videos that allow students to explore in all directions:
Our 360 virtual field trip space includes embedded forms for students to record their observations and ideas. Student responses are recorded in Google Sheets and shared with teachers as a tool for participation and assessment:
Our 360 virtual field trip space includes clickable icons that pop up with photos and videos to provide evidence and support student sense-making at their site:
WHAT WILL MY STUDENTS BE DOING AFTER THE LIVE SESSION?
We provide links for students to explore the virtual 360 space on their own after the live session, as well as links for post-field trip activities. Post-field trip activities ask students to reflect on what they learned and apply lessons from Mount St. Helens to other landscapes.
CAN I VIEW THE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP AFTER THE LIVE PROGRAM?
Yes. Our virtual field trip package provides links for you and your students to access the virtual 360 environment before and after your live program. These links will remain available for the remainder of your school semester.
WHAT IF A STUDENT OF MINE DOES NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS?
It is possible to access the 360 virtual environment offline. We can provide a copy of the virtual field trip as an executable file that works on Windows or Mac.
WHAT IF ALL OF MY INSTRUCTION IS ASYNCHRONOUS?
Please contact us to discuss the best solution to replace the live session. This could include a 1-on-1 session with the teacher or providing some written responses to student questions.
Ready to Register?
Step 1: Consider your date availability
Our form asks you to submit 3 possible date options. Please note that available dates are subject to group size, staff availability, and facility availability.
Our busiest weeks are May 1 through June 15 and fill up quickly. Fall outdoor school is a great way to create bonds that last throughout the school year, is a beautiful time of year to visit the mountain, and has more flexibility.
Step 2: Read our Program Policies
Program Policies. Note that groups are required to provide chaperone support at a ratio of 1:5 chaperones per students for overnight trips and 1:8 chaperones per students for day trips.
Step 4: Register by completing the non-binding inquiry form
The required inquiry form begins your registration. For qualifying groups, the financial assistance form starts the process to provide assistance.
On the inquiry form, please include your top three dates and any information about the limits of your flexibility (ex: any Thursday in June), and dates you cannot come. We do our best to accommodate your dates based on our availability and our priorities based on grant funding.
After you Inquire
- We will notify you of the proposed date(s) and any financial support ~ 2 weeks after we receive your inquiry.
- Once we have agreed on a date, we will send you a Program Agreement for you to sign and return to us.
- Once we received a completed Program Agreement, we send you access to pre-field trip planning materials.
Stay Connected
Join our learning list to receive the latest updates about our education programs, including registration openings, information about virtual and online education, and teacher trainings.
