Virtual reality, or VR for short, is a way of having immersive 3D experiences that are simulated using a computer. You may have seen VR headsets: these are a way for a user to put on the equipment and experience the virtual reality content.

The image above of a woman delightedly using a VR headset is what you might imagine when you think of virtual reality. These kinds of images focus on the headset, but not the content the user is engaging with, which may make VR seem more about novelty than actual content. However, there's lots of potential for the immersive content within the headset (or other methods of viewing VR, like multiple screens or using your phone in a holder).

People often wonder what VR is actually useful for, as there are a huge range of experiences and ways it can be used. VR is not just for gaming, it has lots of other great uses for film, education, data visualisation and much more. It's sometimes used for:

• Experiencing an environment you can't usually access (like floating around space, or a place in history)
• Exploring rare objects or items that are usually not accessible
• Looking at places or things in scale (like seeing how big dinosaurs actually were)
• Experiencing something through the eyes or perspective of something else

Take a look at our Introductory Virtual Reality 101 video for tips on getting started:

Our Introduction to VR session gives an overview of virtual reality, how VR headsets work. and what VR tools you can get started with. The slides from the session are below:

Full Introduction to VR slides on Google Slides

Building virtual reality experiences from scratch can be time consuming, but there are also lots of tools you can use to explore the potential of VR and think about what you might want to create.

If you're looking to start creating your own VR experiences, there's a few tools which allow you to create an environment and add your own 3D models and content. These can be if you want to create your own virtual exhibition, or explore the idea for an interactive story.

Tools like FrameVR provide a free version where you can use a pre-made virtual environment to set up your own exhibition space. You can add your own images, models and video anywhere in the space (like putting a painting on a wall).

It's worth checking tools like these and using some critical thinking for limitations on access and what you can do with the space after you've created it, as some may have restrictions on how they can be used.