Richard Olsen was noticeably nervous. It was the archaeologist’s first performance in front of a camera.

“I’ve never done a video before,” he said, wearing a wide-brimmed Park Service hat.

Olsen’s rugged good looks and knowledge of the subject matter didn’t help him once the camera was pointed in his direction. Only practice will help the staff at the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area improve, said chief interpretive ranger Christy Fleming.

“Everybody's really excited about the park and to share that resource,” Fleming said. “But we definitely need to work on our  camera skills.”

Staffers at the National Park Service property have been forced to cancel all programs due to new coronavirus concerns. But instead of throwing in the towel on a full season of popular programs, they’ve decided to conduct tours and talks on camera — allowing those practicing social distancing to continue to experience the outdoors from the comfort of their homes.

On Tuesday, Fleming and Olsen stood in the snow and cold wind, leading a virtual tour through a trail where native people walked and camped for 10,000 to 12,000 years while traveling to the buffalo plains. Other employees have recorded videos about exciting wildlife in the recreation area — including wild horses, bighorn sheep and black bears. The history of the area, including early trappers, traders and ranchers first settling the areas will be covered in future videos.

Many of the tours are intended for the kids. But that didn’t help Olsen feel more at ease.

“I’ve given this presentation for the Junior Ranger Day; I've given it before in front of kids at the exact same location we're going to today. And so for me, it's a little more comfortable,” Olsen said. “But, I definitely don't have [confidence] in my screen presence. It's not going to be very professional.”

As Fleming started filming, Olsen slowly got used to the process. He really didn’t have much of a choice: Fleming is having the entire staff do presentations for their online catalog.

“Our honest goal is to get the kids in the park in the only way that we know how to do it,” Fleming  said.

There are few resources more isolated to practice social distancing than Bighorn Canyon. The park — which has no admission fee — has dozens of trails and destinations and few visitors at this point.

“Go out and hike the trails, because they're amazing. Most of the time you're the only person on them,” Fleming said. “But be cognizant if there's other cars in the parking lot, maybe pick a different trail, or give them some space.”

There are other benefits to starting a video collection, Fleming said. The collection could become a vehicle to introduce the park to people that may not be able to travel to Wyoming.

“It's also a good way to remind local kids that we’re out here and display what we can do for teachers when we are able to do field trips again,” she said.

There are many online resources being touted to help bring educational opportunities to the home.

For hours and hours of educational opportunities, viewers might want to check out the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s collection. The museum has been doing videos for all ages since 2013. Want a little more personal touch? The museum offers Skype for groups — even for small groups in your home.

“We have all kinds of resources. Our most popular one is called Skype in the Classroom. And we can do that for families as well,” said Gretchen Henrich, director of interpretive education at the center.

The interactive lessons are about 40 minutes long and cover many topics. The content also includes games, interactive resources, lesson plans and activities for families or teachers working remotely.

“I think part of it is our ability to reach students when we're kind of spread out all over Wyoming; we're not in the middle of an urban city,” Henrich said. “One of the ways that we learned to reach a broader school audience was through virtual teaching and through the Skype in the Classroom program.”

Even First Lady Melania Trump has jumped in to endorse the alternative form of online learning, directing children to a program called Story Time From Space.

The video series features astronauts reading children’s books from the International Space Station; they also conduct educational demonstrations, under the heading “Science Time Videos.”

“Virtual Learning,” Trump recently tweeted, “is a great way to keep children engaged while home from school.”