Hi!  It’s Friday, February 5, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Wilson Football Factory

Superbowl Sunday is just two days away! Get an inside look at how the official NFL Game Ball is made at the Wilson factory in Ada, Ohio.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a brief introduction and a video screen.  Click on it to watch a video of proud factory workers constructing NFL Game Balls by hand from genuine leather hides. You’ll witness the process that includes:

• Cutting the cow hide
• Stamping the hide with Wilson insignia
• Turning the balls
• Lockstitching the panels
• Straightening and tightening the laces

This football manufacturing process has been a proud tradition since 1941. Have fun watching the game. I hope your team wins!

Hi!  It’s Friday, January 29, 2009 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Necco: Sweethearts Factory Tour

Age Range: 5-105 (Non-readers will need assistance.)
 
Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it. I’ve been seeing the boxed “Sweethearts” candies with the tiny valentine messages printed on them in the grocery store check-out line. I thought it might be fun to learn how they are made.

At the Necco Candy website you can take a free virtual tour (through photographs and text) to see how “Sweethearts” are manufactured. Not only that, you can take a tour to see how Necco Wafers and Haviland Thin Mints are made as well!

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of all three tours. Click on the tour of interest and a new screen opens where you can follow the virtual tour.

Once you’ve take the tours, click on “Fun and Learning” on the menu to access research for school projects and reports, games, quizzes, and recipes.

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Hi!  It’s Friday, January 22, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm

At this website you can take a free virtual tour (through photographs and text) of the Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm in New Mexico, to see how pistachio nuts are grown, harvested and processed for comsumption.

As you’ll learn at the website, in the Chinese language the name for pistachios means “happy nut.” The Eagle Ranch mascot is a happy nut named “Peppy” – just click on the image of “Peppy” at the bottom of each page to follow the tour.  When you get to the site you’ll see photographs of the pistachio tree grove. Again, just click on Peppy to continue the tour that includes:

• Processing Plant
• Salting & Roasting Plant
• Packaging Department
• Shipping Department

The Pistachio Virtual Tour is mixed together with a quick snapshot of the Eagle Ranch vineyard and some of the stores and attractions at the location. Use the menu to learn more about pistachio nuts including their history and nutritional value.

Enjoy!

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Hi!  It’s Friday, January 15, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
NPS: MLK Birthhome Tour
http://www.homefires.com/click?martin

Age Range: 5 and up

January 15th is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born in 1929. King was an African-American minister who led massive, peaceful demonstrations leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. He believed in equality for people of all races, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his peaceful efforts to bring an end to racial discrimination in the United States. 

At this National Park Service website, you can take a free virtual tour of King’s birth place. When you get to the site you’ll see a floor plan of the home.  Directly below it you can click on a button to hear an audio narration.  Then, simply click on any section of the floor plan to see the interior of the home, read the accompanying text, and listen to the presentation.

When you’re through with the tour, you’ll find free lesson plans for grades K-8 here: http://www.homefires.com/click?mlklessons

Enjoy!

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Hi!  It’s Friday, January 8, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website
Online Universities: 100 Vitual Tours
http://www.homefires.com/click?100tours 

ClickScholar Cie recommended this website that offers “100 Incredible & Educational Virtual Tours You Don’t Want to Miss“. Compiled by a company called Online Universities, this list of vitual tours is absolutely free and allows you to “learn how things are made, explore the human body or that of a life-sized whale, and visit ball parks and theme parks. There is even a section of incredible virtual tours that Google Earth has compiled that shares the world in a whole new way.”

When you get to the site you’ll see the introduction and a menu that includes links to virtual tours of:

• Cities
• Famous Landmarks and Buildings
• Museums
• College Campuses
• Outer Space
• How Things Are Made
• Humans and Animals
• Ball Parks
• Theme Parks
• Google Earth Virtual Tours

Just click on a link to launch the tour. As the website explains, “One of the wonders of the Internet is that it can bring the world to you instead of your needing to find the time and money to explore the traditional way.”

Enjoy!