Zoos, wildlife parks, museums and aquariums here in Australia and around the world are providing tours, talks and live streams that allow people to holiday virtually from home.

Tiger cam - In New South Wales, Taronga Zoo has Taronga TV (taronga.org.au/taronga-tv), which offers live stream cams of some of its animal enclosures, including the tigers, elephants, and seals. The zoo has also put animal feeding and talks with some of its animal keepers online. 

If you want to check out the mammals and reptiles at a famous overseas zoo, visit the San Diego Zoo (kids.sandiegozoo.org/). This website has been designed for youngsters and comes with amazing videos, activities, and games. Likewise, if the great outdoors are take a tour of America’s Yellowstone National Park at www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm. 

Get your Crocodile Hunter on – Australian Reptile Park, home to Australia’s crankiest crocodile, Elvis is also live-streaming zookeepers daily as they showcase their favourite animals and answer viewer questions. These videos are streamed LIVE from reptilepark.com.au/arptv to the Australian Reptile Park Facebook and Instagram pages at 2 pm daily (AEST). So, make sure you follow and tune in. 

Penguins of Melbourne - if the children prefer aquatic, flightless birds rather than bone crushing reptiles, then Sealife Melbourne (melbourneaquarium.com.au/explore/virtual-aquarium/) is worth visiting. Apart from the penguins, watch shark feeding time, while the aquarium offers activity sheets, craft activities and plenty of downloadable content about our aquatic friends.

Explore history – with Anzac Day just around the corner; the older kids can use Google Street View to explore the galleries of the Australian War Memorial online. The Museum offers videos and podcasts that pays homage to the diggers of the past.

If you’re looking for a broader view of history, the iconic British Museum (britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/), home to the world-famous Rosetta Stone, allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient world including the Egyptian mummies. 

Walking tours of the world’s wonders – See a hiker’s perspective of The Great Wall of China without breaking into a sweat, thanks to The China Guide’s interactive virtual tour of the wall’s Jinshanling to Simatai section, which is usually a five-hour walking hike. 

There are many more zoos, wildlife parks, museums and aquariums around the world offering virtual tours. However, this list will give the kids plenty to do in iso these holidays.