Virtual Reality Labs Officially Unveiled in Bristol Virginia Public Schools
Virginia High School shows off first of two virtual reality labs in BVPS for students.
After several months of development, design, and construction, the first of two virtual reality labs in Bristol Virginia Public Schools was unveiled at Virginia High School. The lab officially opened on Wednesday, March 16th. The unveiling event was highlighted on the evening WCYB news broadcast as well as their website.
Though the Virginia High School lab was opened first, both it and Virginia Middle School have been outfitted with custom-designed virtual reality labs to help further the student learning experience. Teachers will be able to utilize the technology to provide immersive and interactive educational experiences to their classes.
The labs were custom designed to fit the given space. Trussing and related hardware installation provided by a Johnson City, TN company, FiberConnext.
Each room consists of 12 stations, each divided by belt stanchions, which allow for a simple barrier to delineate the play area. The stations are designed to accommodate two participants per session where one student actively wears the headset and the other is able to see the headset view on a TV screen above the station. This allows the student watching to be engaged in the process even while not wearing the headset.
As far as the hardware is concerned, Alienware Aurora R12 computers with high-end graphics cards power the virtual reality software and applications. The headsets are HTC Vive Pro 2’s and are each outfitted with wireless packs to remove the worry of being tethered to the computer or getting tangled up in wires.
HTC SteamVR Base Stations are placed around the room in a strategic way as to be able to provide movement tracking, while not overlapping with play areas they aren’t meant to and/or providing tracking to too many headsets at one time.
To start, students and teachers will have access to approximately 90 interactive experiences. This collection of educational applications and experiences will continue to grow, especially as the medium continues to progress in popularity and mainstream usage widens.
Here are a few examples of virtual experiences that are available to students and teachers:
Chernobyl VR Project (History)
Chernobyl VR Project is a unique project that combines video games with educational and movie narrative software. It is the first virtual tour around the Chernobyl and Pripyat area.
Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass (Art, History)
Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass reveals the latest scientific research on da Vinci’s artistic innovation and his painting techniques and processes through exceptional visualization in virtual reality, bringing them to life.
theBlu (Science)
Experience the wonder and majesty of the ocean through a series of habitats and come face to face with some of the most awe inspiring species on the planet.
Car Mechanic Simulator (Career and Technical)
Become a real car mechanic in VR. Build, repair, paint, tune, and drive cars in the fully 3D world. Realistic work with tools and car parts.
Adventure Climb (Physical Education)
Adventure Climb is a room-scale climbing experience consisting of a short one level adventure through a Canyon. Achieve triumph through a rock climbing challenge designed by actual rock climbers!
Paradiddle (Music)
Paradiddle lets you play drums in VR without the limitations of the real world. It opens up many possibilities for learning how to drum, through an intuitive interface, a realistic sound system and recording-playback capabilities.