Virtual School Trip Iceland
Spending each and every day in our homes will surely get boring after a while when there is a whole world out there to discover. Adaptable Travel are always looking for new ways to keep the adventure going. So, we thought seeing as you can’t go to it, we will bring it to you!
Each week we’ll be putting together a digital tour of our best destinations which you and your students can explore from anywhere! These resources are easy to share with your students and aim to help bring learning to life and support their learning as they cover topics at home.
This week we travel to Iceland, an incredible country with spectacular views and fascinating geographical landmarks. Explore with us below.
All aboard for ICELAND!
The Blue Lagoon
As with our actual school trips, we will also virtually start off with a trip to the Blue Lagoon, an incredible geothermal spa. This unique attraction is also Iceland’s most visited, located in a black lava field, and supplied with water via the nearby geothermal power plant, Svartsengi. Sit back and relax in the calming, deep blue waters surrounded by the vast volcanic landscape. Around you will be the lagoon’s active ingredients such as mineral salts, silica and blue green algae giving the lagoon its striking colour. This is the perfect way to relax before an adventure filled trip!
Perlan: Wonders of Iceland Museum
A trip to the Perlan Museum to visit the Wonders of Iceland exhibition gives the students a great overall briefing of what to expect on their forthcoming trip. The students will love the uniqueness of this museum as they get to experience a real 100-metre-long ice cave as well as an immersive Forces of Nature show to name just a couple, allowing them to immerse themselves in Iceland’s natural environment. There is a newly opening Planetarium, the first of its kind in Iceland, offering an interactive take on “The Wonders of Iceland” as nature comes alive all around you. The building itself is quite iconic in Iceland and has an amazing view of Reykjavik which can be seen from the 360° Observation Deck complete with picture panels and information signs that tell you of points of interest on the horizon.
LAVA Centre
This new and exciting exhibition is dedicated to the unique geology of Iceland. It allows students to immerse themselves in interactive and high-tech exhibits depicting volcanic activity, the after-effects of earthquakes and how Iceland itself formed over millions of years. By walking you through the geological history of Iceland, students are introduced to the forces of nature which both formed the island and play an ever part in their daily lives. This excursion is a fascinating introduction to the landforms that they will later experience first-hand.
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
As we have no time constraints on this virtual tour, we are free to explore every part of this beautiful island! Our next stop will be Snæfellsnes Peninsula, a unique area of Iceland filled to the brim with different geological phenomena. Here you can immerse yourself in lava fields, a glacier capped volcano and basalt cliffs. There are many wonders to see here so make sure to check out the amazing Snæfelljökull glacier or the astonishing Kirkjufell Mountain, which was a shooting location in Game of Thrones. This peninsula is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the beautiful scenery and culture of Iceland.
Golden Circle
Our next trip is to what is known as the ‘Golden Circle’ of Iceland which consists of three stunning and varied attractions.
Gullfoss Waterfall
Our first stop in the Golden Circle is Gullfoss Waterfall, a phenomenal and unique attraction that will not be forgotten in a hurry! The unique formation of the waterfall means you can only view it from above, something that is quite unusual for us! The waters plunge into a deep canyon of foaming water offering an incredible perspective of the waters from the high vantage point. This iconic attraction translates to ‘Golden Falls’ in English.
Þingvellir National Park
Next on our trip around the Golden Circle is Þingvellir National Park where students can jump across the American and Eurasian Tectonic Plate Fault Lines allowing you to effectively walk between two continents. There is a wealth of things to do here as geological processes play out in front you, the canyon running through the park is the meeting point of the two tectonic plates mentioned above and the park runs alongside the largest lake in Iceland, Þingvallavatn. There are many beautiful walks around this National Park to immerse yourself in the beauty of nature and incredible landscapes.
Strokkur Geysir
The final stop on our tour of the Golden Circle is Strokkur Geysir, which is Iceland’s most visited active geysir, spouting geothermically heated water up to 15-20 metres into the air every five to ten minutes. Strokkur is located in the Geysir Geothermal Area made up of geysirs, bubbling mud pools and hot springs but Strokkur is by far the most active. Watch and marvel at this spectacle of nature that is believed to be 1000 years old.
South Shore:
Our next big excursion during this virtual tour is to the South Shore which takes you along the south coast of the island on one of its most scenic routes.
Sólheimajökull Glacier
After the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, perhaps most famous is the Sólheimajökull Glacier, an outlet glacier of the large icecap Mýrdalsjökull which sit on top of the Katla volcano. It is around 8km long and 2km wide making it a very impressive glacier, however it appears larger due to the lack of distinction between the Sólheimajökull outlet and the Mýrdalsjökull icecap. Unfortunately, it is rapidly shrinking, melted ice the length of an Olympic sized swimming pool adds to the large glacier lagoon every year. It offers a plethora of fantastic ice formations such as ridges and crevasses and provides a spectacular view.
Black Sand Beaches, Dyrhólaey
Our final stop on our tour of Iceland’s south coast are the black sand beaches of Dyrhólaey which provide stunning and unusual views. This cliff line is incredibly impressive and home to a natural bridge formation displaying lots of coastal features such as arches, stacks and stumps, large markers of erosion. In addition to this, hundreds of puffins have made this beach their home! The black sand is formed due to the abundance of volcanic minerals and dark coloured rocks, making these beaches a wonder of nature. Nearby at the Reynisfjara beach, you can see the towering basalt columns while taking in the spectacular panoramic views.
Reykjavik
As our virtual tour comes to an end, why not take a quick look around Iceland’s incredible capital city. While today, it is a modern and cultural city with world class museums, colourful houses, and delicious restaurants, you can still visit parts of the old town centre. The mighty Hallgrímskirkja church can be viewed from every angle of the city and its beautifully unique steeple makes it one of Reykjavik’s great landmarks. There are geothermically heated swimming pools, the Harpa Concert and Conference Hall, an impressive glass building sat near the Old Harbour and so much more. You can immerse yourself in the arts and culture and take in the breath-taking views surrounding this city.
With that, today’s virtual trip in now finished, we hope you have enjoyed exploring Iceland’s fantastic landscapes. Please visit our website to learn about even more Icelandic adventures we have on offer. Check back on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for our next virtual trip!
