Skip to main content
Ingenium Logo

You are leaving IngeniumCanada.org

✖


This link leads to an external website that Ingenium does not control. Please read the third-party’s privacy policies before entering personal information or conducting a transaction on their site.

Have questions? Review our Privacy Statement

Vous quittez IngeniumCanada.org

✖


Ce lien mène à un site Web externe qu'Ingenium ne contrôle pas. Veuillez lire les politiques de confidentialité des tiers avant de partager des renseignements personnels ou d'effectuer une transaction sur leur site.

Questions? Consultez notre Énoncé de confidentialité

Ingenium The Channel

Langue

  • Français
Search Toggle

Menu des liens rapides

  • Ingenium Locations
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Join
Menu

Main Navigation

  • Browse
    • Categories
    • Media Types
    • Boards
    • Featured Stories
  • About
    • About The Channel
    • Content Partners

Virtual reality brings the farm life experience to students worldwide

Share
3 m
Mar 27, 2019
Categories
Agriculture
Categories
Engineering & Technology
Media
Article
Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
By: Sonia Mendes
Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
Cows walk in front of a building at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.

Field trip planning just got a whole lot easier.

Thanks to the power of virtual reality, teachers based anywhere in the world can now take their students on an educational tour of the dairy barn at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum — which is also a working farm in Ottawa, Canada.

The museum has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to develop “Explore a Dairy Farm,” a virtual reality (VR) expedition available through the Google Expeditions app.

Nadine Dagenais Dessaint, who works as an education, interpretation, and exhibition officer for the museum, explains that the virtual tour offers users exclusive access to rarely-seen areas of the farm, which is located on a national heritage site.

“In this tour, you get to go into rooms where visitors are not normally allowed,” she says. “For security reasons, our visitors can’t physically visit the hayloft, and most of the time it’s filled with hay. It happened that when Google shot the photos for the tour, it was half empty — so you can really see the architecture of that beautiful building.”

Dagenais Dessaint adds that the content of the tour is also unlike a physical trip to the museum.

“Most groups that come to the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum don’t necessarily do a dairy tour,” she says. “This is a very personal tour; you’re following a herdsperson through their day of work, learning about life as a dairy farmer and how they care for calves and cows. You start the tour outside and look at the barn, the barnyard, and the tractors. Then you explore different parts of the barn; you see the maternity unit where cows give birth, the feed room where rations are prepared, and the dairy barn where the cows are milked twice each day.”

Anna Szoc, a coordinator with the Google Cultural Institute, says the tour of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum will open up new possibilities for educators in Canada and beyond.

“In Canada, a class could see it using virtual reality first and then decide to come in person,” says Szoc. “This tool also makes it possible for a teacher in France to show the museum to their class; the museum can be seen and visited by people who will never have an opportunity to come to Canada.”

Szoc adds that the tour was created using 3D photography, and is designed to be viewed using a smartphone within a Google Cardboard viewer.

“The viewer is simple and accessible — they are inexpensive and readily available for purchase, or you can find online tutorials to make your own,” says Szoc. “The viewer has lenses inside; you put in a smartphone and you’re ready to go.”

The tour can also be viewed with a smartphone or tablet without using Google Cardboard. There are nine slides — or panoramas — with each one offering between three and five points of interest.

“If it’s an expedition with a teacher, then the teacher has a tablet and controls where the pupils are and what they’re looking at,” explains Szoc.

The museum has also prepared several streams of questions that teachers can pose to their students about the tour, which are age-appropriate for different grade levels and linked to the provincial and territorial educational curricula.

A narrated audio file is also available for users who want to take a solo trip.

Szoc says that the expedition tour of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is just one of the many expeditions Google Arts & Culture is making available.

“We have a lot of very interesting places that are hard to get to — like a coral reef, the Taj Mahal,” she says. “Now even people with limited mobility will be able to see some of the most incredible, hard-to-access locations around the world.”

Ready to “Explore a Dairy Farm” at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum? Just follow these steps:

1) Download the Google Expeditions app for iOS or Android.

2) Launch Google Expeditions, then search for: Explore a Dairy Farm.

3) Download the tour — it is now added to your library!

4) View with or without a VR viewer.

Photo of the dairy barn at the Museum

A few of the panoramic views of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum available through the new Google Expedition, “Explore a Dairy Farm.”

Image of inside the dairy barn at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

A few of the panoramic views of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum available through the new Google Expedition, “Explore a Dairy Farm.”

Image of the inside of the dairy barn at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

A few of the panoramic views of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum available through the new Google Expedition, “Explore a Dairy Farm.”

Tags
education, virtual reality, students, Google, Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, dairy
Author(s)
Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Sonia Mendes
Follow

Sonia Mendes is the English Writer/Editor for Ingenium. She loves digging behind the scenes to tell the quirky, colourful stories of museum life and all things related to science and innovation.

More Stories by

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Sonia Mendes
Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
Award winner Jackson Weir stands next to a large marble wall with a sign that reads, "Harvard Medical School." A tree and the facade of a building are visible in the background.

Final countdown: Applications due soon for STEAM Horizon Awards program

A close-up shot of two young people wearing safety goggles, in a lab environment. The person in the foreground is holding up a glass beaker filled will blue liquid.

STEAM Horizon awards program seeks inspiring, science-minded youth

Two gingerbread and sugar creations are pictured against a dark backdrop; a model of the James Webb Space Telescope is in the foreground, and the Ariane 5 rocket is visible in the background.

Gingerbread art launches the holiday season at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

Three women pose in front of the massive iron wheels of a locomotive. They are wearing coats and scarves and smiling at the camera.

Behind the scenes: Meet Ingenium’s travelling exhibitions team

A wax model of a set of yellowed and unsightly teeth seem to be suspended in the air, set against a black background.

Toothy tales: 5 artifacts from your dental nightmares

A cartoon-style graphic of two hands holding a tablet; the screen features an open book and some science-themed icons like a light bulb, a microscope, and a rocket ship.

Science Literacy Week explores science in our everyday lives

The surface of the Moon, scattered with craters of various sizes.

Astronaut training mission lands in Labrador

A young woman smiles and looks at the camera as she poses with a cardboard cut-out of Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.

Asian Heritage Month: A conversation with Ruth Hwang

A woman wearing a protective jumpsuit crouches next to a beehive.

Behind the scenes: Meet a beekeeper at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

A young woman smiles as she sits at a desk with a laptop open in front of her. The logo for the Canadian Space Agency is visible on her laptop screen.

Asian Heritage Month: A conversation with Anna Jee

A young woman wears a traditional Vietnamese dress in bright pink.

Asian Heritage Month: A conversation with Linda Dao

A graphical treatment of an image shows a wide-eyed young person, with their head seemingly opened up. Some hand-drawn squiggles and a lightning bolt appear in white on the top section of the head.

Science Odyssey 2021: Ingenium museums offer inspiring, virtual experiences

A young man wearing a mask stands at a table, with two cedar boxes stacked in front of him. He is using a garden trowel to dig in a soil-like mixture inside the top box. Pieces of wood and an electric saw are visible in the workshop behind him.

The Box of Life: Grow a gorgeous garden with one of nature’s superheroes

A woman in a white lab coat smiles widely at the camera. She is standing in a laboratory, and a row of labelled jars and containers sit on a shelf behind her.

Black voices in STEM: A conversation with Dr. Juliet Daniel

A woman wearing an astronaut’s helmet holds a rabbit up to the camera of a laptop, which is open in front of her. Children’s faces are visible on the laptop screen via videoconferencing.

Virtual field trips offer a breath of fresh air amidst pandemic restrictions

A white race car with dark blue and gold accents sits in a tranquil, outdoor setting, with the sun shining through the trees. The word “Ford” is visible in huge letters across the windshield.

Start your engines: A Ford GT Mk II is now on display in Ottawa

A woman wearing purple gloves looks into a glass bottle of water that she is holding.

Life on Mars? Billion-year-old water found near Timmins could offer glimpse into the past

A group of people stand outdoors, looking up as a small white plane drops candy and gifts while it flies over the crowd.

A living legend: Saying farewell to Johnny May’s sweet tradition

A young girl wears a white shirt and protective glasses, as she holds a beaker of green liquid. The image is set against a lime green backdrop, and the words, “Ingenium-NSERC STEAM Horizon Awards” are visible in white lettering.

Wanted: Canada’s brightest young minds

A young woman smiles as she stands next to a large helicopter, which is sitting on the grass.

Women in STEM: A conversation with Jasmine Shaw

A young woman wearing a navy blue shirt smiles as she stands next to a mannequin dressed in a black tank top. A computer and a variety of equipment is visible on shelves in the background.

Women in STEM: A conversation with Linda Dao

A young woman wearing a lab coat, mask, and gloves sits in a laboratory. An array of bottles and equipment is visible on the counter in front of her.

Women in STEM: A conversation with Crystal McLellan

Two Remembrance Day pins sit side-by-side on a wooden surface: A red poppy pin sits next to a gold ribbon-shaped pin that features an emblem of a pigeon.

Animals in war: Unlikely war heroes took to the skies

A young woman wearing a blue blazer sits at a white desk. She has two laptops and several books open in front of her; she is looking at one of the screens.

Women in STEM: A conversation with Cecilia Odonkor

A large brown house with a wrap-around porch is surrounded by trees.

You could own the house of horrors From ‘Silence of the Lambs’

A young woman wearing a white lab coat and blue rubber gloves sits in a laboratory, working with a variety of tools in front of her.

Women in STEM: A conversation with Micaela Gray

A young woman smiles as she stands at her workstation; a computer, monitor, notepad and pen are open in front of her.

Women in STEM: A conversation with Jillian Anderson

A horizontal banner depicts the faces of five Canadian women in a pencil-sketch style format. The words, “Women’s History Month – October 2020” are visible at the top of the banner.

Women’s History Month celebrates a more inclusive Canada

A wide shot of a gallery inside the Lindt Home of Chocolate, showing white walls, white marble floors and a massive chocolate fountain. A few people are standing and sitting around the fountain, looking up at it.

Lindt opens the world’s largest chocolate museum

A cartoon-style drawing depicts books, flowers, and animals. A large letter “B” represents the theme of biodiversity. The words “Sept. 21-27, 2020” is visible in the bottom, right-hand corner of the image.

Science Literacy Week offers online learning opportunities

A stack of butter tarts sit on a silver platter; a small Canadian flag is inserted into the top butter tart.

Baskin Robbins is bringing back their butter tart ice cream and it's so Canadian

Astronaut Chris Hadfield, wearing a white spacesuit and helmet.

7 tips from an astronaut on how to master remote work

A religious painting of the Virgin Mary, surrounded by angels.

Experts call for regulation after latest botched art restoration in Spain

A colourful painting depicting two locomotives on a track, with a blue sky in the background. The words, “Visit our great exhibit – Steam: A World in Motion” are visible at the top.

Artistic artifacts: Teen taps into creativity to stay connected with his favourite museum 

A pair of pink satin point shoes sit on the floor, against a black background.

Paris Opera dancers thank key workers with a special choreographed video

Red and white tulips are in full bloom under a blue sky; the Peace Tower of Parliament Hill is visible in the background.

Virtual tulip festival commemorates Canada’s role in the liberation of the Netherlands

A painting depicts a lake, with trees and mountains in the background.

Group of Seven artwork has a home amongst science and technology artifacts

A 3D image of the COVID-19 virus on a black background.

How novel X-ray technology made in Waterloo can help COVID-19 patients

A black-and-white image of team of young hockey players, posing on the ice with their hockey sticks.

Ahead by a century: A snapshot of the hockey stick’s evolution since 1920  

A computer screen shows 14 people taking part in a video coffee chat over Zoom.

National Volunteer Week: Ingenium volunteers stay connected despite COVID-19

Map of France

Coronavirus lockdown leading to drop in pollution across Europe

A mother reaches out to comfort a distressed little girl as they sit together in a living room.

How to support children’s mental health during the pandemic

A young girl stands in front of a microphone, looking at a large screen with a blue avatar of a woman's face.

Museum visitors help to grow an artificial intelligence prototype

Willie O'Ree

NHL's Black History Month mobile museum in Ottawa

Catherine Beddall assembles a gingerbread house.

Behind the scenes: Meet a gingerbread artist

A female museum guide supervises two young students, who are reaching out to stroke a large, white rabbit on the table in front of them.

New museum program brings the farm right into the classroom

A view of the solid-looking, wooden steering wheel, inside the pilot house from the SS Prince Edward Island.

Canada’s marine transportation artifacts will be better preserved in the Collections Conservation Centre

Two young girls stand in front of their research display about Elsie MacGill.

International Women in Engineering Day: Remembering Elsie MacGill

A microphone sits in front of a computer screen.

Podcast: Inspiring youth through museums and the Canadian Aero/Space Skills Network

Black History Month

Honouring Black Canadians in science and technology

Related Stories

The straw-gas powered McLaughlin D45 touring automobile with its gas bag, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Anon., “Is This Prophetic of Future? Auto Is Run With Straw Gas.” The Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 20 August 1918, 1.

“Is This Prophetic of Future?”: University of Saskatchewan professor Robert Dawson MacLaurin and the billowing saga of straw gas, part 2

The illustration which brought the straw gas production project of University of Saskatchewan professor Robert Dawson MacLaurin to the attention of many. Anon., “Straw Gas Here: Novel Motor Fuel Used to Save Gasoline.” Visalia Morning Delta, 15 November 1918, 6.

“Is This Prophetic of Future?”: University of Saskatchewan professor Robert Dawson MacLaurin and the billowing saga of straw gas, part 1

The left-hand photo shows several square bins lined with clear plastic, full of bunches of purple grapes, with rows of grape vines visible in the background. The right-hand photo shows a cathode ray tube computer terminal and small keyboard. The computer has yellow plastic housing and black plastic frame. The keyboard is grey. To the right in this photo is a conservation photography colour correction card.

2 things you should know about how grape diversity could help save winemaking in Canada and how conservators use an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to uncover and analyze the materials in the collection's artifacts

George Bernard Raser, Junior, sitting on a mower pulled by an automobile driven by his brother, Harry Thomas Raser, near East Ashtabula, Ohio, May or June 1903. Paul d’Arner, “L’automobile et l’agriculture.” Le Monde illustré, 31 October 1903, 409.

Plough, plough, plough your field; Or, How two brothers, Harry Thomas Raser and George Bernard Raser, Junior, used an automobile on the family farm, near East Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1903

A cart, or gig, in the former Agriculture Museum at the Central Experimental Farm, circa 1937

Agriculture Museums on the Central Experimental Farm

Spliced image, from left to right: a concord plane against a blue cloudy sky, a brow in flight carrying a bun in its beak, a bowl of ice water and cut green beans being scooped by a collander

3 things you should know about whether we need scarecrows to scare crows, how to preserve your garden harvest using science, and whether supersonic air travel will return with a Concorde 2.0

A map of the cranberry bog of Les Producteurs de Québec Limitée of Lemieux, Québec. Luc Bureau, “Un exemple d’adaptation de l’agriculture à des conditions écologiques en apparence hostiles: L’Atocatière de Lemieux,” Cahiers de géographie du Québec, December 1970, 389.

“A sea serpent without affidavit, is like roast turkey without cranberry sauce;” Or, how the Larocque family created the first cranberry bog in Québec, part 3

Two images spliced: On the left, different plant-based milk alternatives, on the right, an overhead view of the Spirit rover.

2 things - and more! - you should know about plant-based milk alternatives and weather on Mars

Some of the buildings on the cranberry bog operated by Les Producteurs de Québec Limitée of Lemieux, Québec. Pierre-Arthur Dorion. “La plus importante plantation d’atocas au pays.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, July 1955, 11.

“A sea serpent without affidavit, is like roast turkey without cranberry sauce;” Or, how the Larocque family created the first cranberry bog in Québec, part 2

Charles Larocque, manager of Les Producteurs de Québec Limitée of Lemieux, Québec, showing how to pick up cranberries, on the left, as well as fallen fruits floating in water. Arthur Prévost, « À Lemieux, au Québec, prospère la culture des ‘juteux atacas.’ » Photo-Journal, 23 July 1953, 33.

“A sea serpent without affidavit, is like roast turkey without cranberry sauce;” Or, how the Larocque family created the first cranberry bog in Québec, part 1

Left to right: solar panels placed high above low-lying green farm crops in a field; bubbles of various sizes rising in a yellow-green medium; and two tarantula feet magnified 40 times appear orange in colour against a navy-blue background.

3 Things you should know about using the same farmland for producing crops AND solar energy, museum conservators’ superhuman “vision,” and making french fries in space

Two images, spliced. On the left: Aerial photograph of two rows of six large circular nets floating on water and attached by ropes to a boat. On the right: The rings of Saturn slice horizontally, almost edge-on, through the middle of the image. A variety of Saturnian moons of varying apparent sizes are in the image ranging from very small, background moons to larger and closer moons.

2 Things you should know about an integrated aquaculture system and discovering more of Saturn's moons

Footer

About The Channel

The Channel

Contact Us

Ingenium
P.O. Box 9724, Station T
Ottawa ON K1G 5A3
Canada

613-991-3044
1-866-442-4416
contact@IngeniumCanada.org
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Channel

    • Channel Home
    • About the Channel
    • Content Partners
  • Visit

    • Online Resources for Science at Home
    • Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
    • Canada Aviation and Space Museum
    • Canada Science and Technology Museum
    • Ingenium Centre
  • Ingenium

    • Ingenium Home
    • About Ingenium
    • The Foundation
  • For Media

    • Newsroom
    • Awards

Connect with us

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest Ingenium news straight to your inbox!

Sign Up

Legal Bits

Ingenium Privacy Statement

© 2023 Ingenium

Symbol of the Government of Canada
  • Browse
    • Categories
    • Media Types
    • Boards
    • Featured Stories
  • About
    • About The Channel
    • Content Partners