Phifer teacher Mrs. Beals, along with Park Avenue technology coach Mrs. Sara Allen, teamed up to organize a tour of the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. And students never left the classroom.

This was, in fact, a virtual tour; students in Mrs. Beals’s class attached an iPhone to cardboard goggles and followed their teacher on a “tour” of ruins. The class has been studying the earliest Americans cultures that arose in Mesoamerica in their social studies class.

The first-ever virtual field trip at Phifer was a success. Teachers hope to continue to use virtual field trips for students to explore many different, faraway places from the convenience of the classroom.