June 23, 2015
Experience Life Beyond the Classroom - Resource Links
(Provided by CalPac, Tuesday, June 23, 2015)
Being a virtual school, many students already know how to direct their own learning. In addition to virtual curriculum, a great way to expand learning and learn new things is to visit local places of interest, watch documentaries, and read. Learning how to gain knowledge for yourself is a great skill for college and life.
There are lots of science, history, art, and other museums all throughout California that can increase learning. Visiting these places can be a lot of fun, and you can learn some really interesting things along the way!
This is by no means a complete list, but here are some really fun and educational places to visit in Northern and Southern California.
1. California Missions
2. Hearst Castle
3. Discovery Cube
4. Reagan Library
5. LA Natural History Museum
6. California Science Center
7. Sutter’s Fort
8. Bower’s Museum
9. Museum of Tolerance
10. Long Beach Aquarium
11. California State Railroad Museum
12. The Tech Museum of Innovation
13. The USS Midway
If you are not able to visit in person, many places offer virtual field trips that allow you to explore the museums and artifacts. Some great places to search for online and explore are:
1. The Moon via Google Earth
2. Tour the White House
3. Tour the Capital Building
4. The Louvre (art museum in France)
5. Reagan Library
6. Ellis Island
7. Anne Frank’s Annex
8. Smithsonian Natural History Museum
In addition to visiting places and taking virtual field trips, documentaries can be great sources of information as well. Channels like Discovery, History Channel, and PBS have great documentaries with lots of information about a variety of interesting topics. There are many very informative pieces that you can watch with your family to learn some really great things! Make sure you always ask your parents before watching any of these shows.
1. World Wars: A very accurate, detailed, and interesting documentary from the History Channel about WWI and WWII.
2. Giant Colossal Squid: A very rare and large animal that was found off the coast of Antarctica. The scientist in New Zealand study and discuss this amazing animal.
3. BBC Podcasts: BBC has some wonderful podcasts and documentaries about current and past events. They currently have discussions about the trenches of WWI, the symbolism of the swastika, and the controversy surrounding the name of the NFL team the Washington Redskins.
4. TURN: This is a show on A&E, but it offers a very realistic historical account of the Culper Ring (Washington’s spies) during the Revolutionary War.
5. Plane Crash: The Discovery Channel crashed a Boeing 747 on purpose to see what happens in crashes and gather data that can help save lives.
6. Mythbusters: This show on Discovery Channel teaches us a lot about science and how it works in the real world! 
There are lots of great online resources that can help you learn about places of interest, but be mindful of where you get your information. The most reliable online sources are websites that end in .edu, .gov, or .org. Look at the bibliographical information of articles to help determine if it is a reliable source.
So get out there and explore!!!
Contact Us Today @ (855) 225-7227.
Email - enroll@cal-pacs.org
