New Orleans Virtual Field Trip

Founded in 1718 on a bend in the Mississippi River some 95 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the "Crescent City" is the home to Creole culture, jazz music, and the world's largest celebration of Mardi Gras. New Orleans, Louisiana, is perhaps the liveliest and most unique city in the United States. 

The city wasn't always under American control. The French founded the city, and turned it over for safekeeping to the Spanish. It then returned to French rule, was sold to the United States, the city seceded with the rest of the Louisana as part of the Southern Confederacy, and finally returned to American rule in 1862. The influence of the French, Spanish, Americans, Native Americans, Baratarian Pirates, people of the Caribean nations, free and enslaved Blacks, and dozens of other cultures in between came together to make the city a true melting pot of cuisine, culture, and languages. 

The city played a vital role during the War of 1812, the antebellum years, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and World War II. 

Join us as we walk the streets of New Orleans and cruise down the "Mighty Mississippi." You'll visit the room where American history's largest real estate transaction took place in the Cabildo. Jump on a riverboat and disembark at the Chalmette Plantation to learn more about the Battle of New Orleans. Visit a city of the dead in the famous Metairie Cemetery. Stroll down Bourbon Street. Handle artifacts at the Confederate Memorial Hall Museum. Build a jeep for the "Arsenal of Democracy" in the astounding National World War II Museum. And enjoy beignets at the world-famous Cafe du Monde.  

Access our teacher resource guide and classroom video questions.