EVENT UPDATE: Age extended to 11+. Pre-register for this event here. 

 

Whether it puts you in a space battle or lets you explore the ocean floor, virtual reality technology is becoming an increasingly useful tool for a variety of different fields. Explore virtual worlds at A Whole New World: 3D Design and VR, on April, 27th at WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology. The event, designed for middle and high school students ages 13+, is from 1 to 4 p.m.

Play with virtual reality software and discover a new worlds. Engage with Oculus Go to explore all that the tool has to offer, including games where you can explore landscapes ranging from the ocean floor to the moon to roller coasters. Dive into augmented reality using a Merge Cube, take flight in a virtual airplane or rocket, or explore the solar system.

“Experimenting with virtual and augmented reality allows users to escape from their own reality for awhile and go places they couldn’t in their real lives,”Sarah Lynn Wells, WonderLab’s Adult and Secondary Education Specialist, said. “It allows people to learn about tech in an fresh and exciting way.”

Guests will also have the opportunity to build their own 3D world with custom landscapes, animations, characters, storylines, and more. After a quick tutorial with CoSpaces, guests will get to use drag-and-drop code to build a virtual world, with writing opportunities for those with experience. Then go explore your creation using virtual reality tools.

“This coding is program is one of my personal favorites because it is accessible for people of all skill levels,” Wells said. “Not only that, but this program also shows people just one more way they can use coding in their life.”

Also during the event, Michael Chabin, a lecturer at Indiana University’s School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. Chabin has 20 years of experience developing interactive animation and currently runs a virtual reality lab. He will guide guests through some of the educational, medical and practical applications of virtual reality.

A Whole New World: 3D Design and VR is for middle and high school students ages 13+. The event is free with museum admission, but has a limited capacity and will be ticketed. Reservation is required. For more information go to wonderlab.org or register at: https://bit.ly/2IuO3Rv

WonderLab is an award-winning science museum located at 308 W. Fourth St. on the B-Line Trail in Bloomington, Indiana. The museum is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. General admission is $9, and children younger than one are free. For more information call (812) 337-1337, or go online to wonderlab.org or WonderLab’s Facebook page.