Virtual Reality Physics Museum
Faculty Mentor Name
Bradley Wall, Md Mosharaf Hossan
Format Preference
Poster
Abstract
While entertainment-based virtual experiences (video games) are enjoyable, productivity and educational apps using this technology are, unfortunately, few and far between. There are even fewer educational virtual reality (VR) games based specifically on physics. Those that do exist are usually inaccessible to students, completely outdated, or irrelevant to their current field of study. We believe that VR is the next frontier in educational tools, and more research is vital in learning how to best utilize this technology to teach students different important concepts. Many experiments and scientific processes are too difficult, expensive, or time-consuming to replicate on a large scale for students to learn from. Creating virtual replications of said experiments would be monumental in teaching these processes because virtual spaces provide ease and access.
This project aims to assist students in learning more about physics processes through a hands-on approach without the need for physical laboratory materials or spaces, with the ultimate goal of providing students with an easily accessible way to view physics-based science experiments or concepts that may not be possible or are very difficult to visualize in real life. We expect that by the end of the year, we will have a solid proof of concept for two to three interactive science exhibits that would otherwise be difficult or even impossible to replicate in a traditional classroom setting. We further hope that this proof of concept will be accepted by external funding sources to allow this project to continue to grow into a fully developed application in the future. We aim to make this project public so that anyone is able to open and explore the virtual “museum” of experiments to learn and succeed in their college careers.
Virtual Reality Physics Museum
While entertainment-based virtual experiences (video games) are enjoyable, productivity and educational apps using this technology are, unfortunately, few and far between. There are even fewer educational virtual reality (VR) games based specifically on physics. Those that do exist are usually inaccessible to students, completely outdated, or irrelevant to their current field of study. We believe that VR is the next frontier in educational tools, and more research is vital in learning how to best utilize this technology to teach students different important concepts. Many experiments and scientific processes are too difficult, expensive, or time-consuming to replicate on a large scale for students to learn from. Creating virtual replications of said experiments would be monumental in teaching these processes because virtual spaces provide ease and access.
This project aims to assist students in learning more about physics processes through a hands-on approach without the need for physical laboratory materials or spaces, with the ultimate goal of providing students with an easily accessible way to view physics-based science experiments or concepts that may not be possible or are very difficult to visualize in real life. We expect that by the end of the year, we will have a solid proof of concept for two to three interactive science exhibits that would otherwise be difficult or even impossible to replicate in a traditional classroom setting. We further hope that this proof of concept will be accepted by external funding sources to allow this project to continue to grow into a fully developed application in the future. We aim to make this project public so that anyone is able to open and explore the virtual “museum” of experiments to learn and succeed in their college careers.