Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 1, 2016

2016 Olympics: Visit Rio with 360-Degree Videos and Virtual Reality

If you're not traveling to Brazil for the Summer Olympics, you can still explore the geography and culture of Rio de Janeiro, courtesy of Google. Rio: Beyond the Map, released to the public July 29, deftly blends archival materials with stunning video, interactive media and profiles of artistic Cariocas, as...

Oct 3, 2016

Are Virtual Reality Headsets Safe for Kids?

Virtual-reality headsets are likely to be at the top of many kids' wish lists this holiday season, but with many VR devices coming with age restrictions, is the technology safe for youngsters? The Oculus Rift and Samsung's Gear VR headsets are recommended for ages 13+, while Sony's recommendation for its...

Oct 11, 2016

Experience the Thrill of an Everest Expedition in New Virtual Reality Film

Armchair adventurers, rejoice! A new virtual-reality documentary series will let you join a team of mountaineers as they tackle a perilous climb up Mount Everest. The VR series, called Capturing Everest, will chronicle the journey of four climbers — including Garrett Madison, who summited Everest six times, and Brent Bishop,...

Oct 26, 2016

Preserving Fright: Haunted Houses Recorded in Virtual Reality

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. I vividly remember my first haunted house ride – it was at the local fairgrounds, just a temporary carnival truck, more façade than ride. I must have been about...

Nov 14, 2016

Affordable VR Will Take Immersive Therapy Mainstream

A stroke patient stretches out a weak arm and grabs a hovering spaceship. A chronic pain sufferer uses her head to bat balls at cartoon bears. A veteran relives his battlefield experiences in a safe environment to help deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Therapeutic approaches that immerse patients in virtual...

Jan 5, 2017

Ancient 'Plain of Jars' Burial Site Recreated in Virtual Reality

Archaeologists have recreated an ancient burial site in virtual reality, to help them study hard-to-access locations at the so-called Plain of Jars site in Laos and the millennia-old relics it contains. The researchers will also use virtual reality to study other archaeological sites at the Plain of Jars, many of...

Feb 22, 2017

Explore the Amazon Rainforest with New Virtual-Reality Film

You can explore the Amazon rainforest's spectacular beauty and biodiversity right from the comfort of your home, thanks to a new 360-degree virtual-reality film from Conservation International. The film, called Under the Canopy, brings viewers into the depths of the Amazon, with the region's diverse environment on full display. But...

Feb 24, 2017

Roller Coasters Go Digital with VR-Enhanced Rides

If the swoops and swerves of a regular roller coaster aren't exhilarating enough for you, Six Flags is giving one of its thrill rides a digital twist, offering theme park visitors a new mixed-reality experience. The amusement park has renewed its partnership with Samsung to launch The New Revolution Galactic...

Mar 16, 2017

Dive with a Blue Whale in New Virtual-Reality Experience

Visitors to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (NHMLA) can now immerse themselves in spectacular ocean environments alongside a bevy of sea creatures with a new virtual-reality exhibit. TheBlu: An Underwater VR Experience invites users to enter a special viewing gallery, where they don HTC Vive virtual-reality (VR) headsets...

Mar 29, 2017

Reshaping the Universe: VR Landscapes Explore Mind-Bending Geometry

Virtual reality can take you to some far-out places — mountaintops, distant cities and even fantastical game worlds. A team of artists and mathematicians is now adding to that list: universes where the usual rules of geometry and physics don't apply. Vi Hart, who founded the research group eleVR, led...

Apr 6, 2017

Ancient Jerusalem Comes Alive in New Virtual-Reality App

This story was updated at 12:29 a.m. ET on April 7. Visitors to Jerusalem and virtual tourists alike can now see the city as it looked in ancient history, with a virtual-reality app based on archaeological reconstructions of the city at the height of its splendor under Roman rule in...

Apr 6, 2017

In Photos: Experience Ancient Jerusalem's Splendor with Virtual-Reality App

A historic icon (Image credit: Golasso)Jerusalem's Western Wall is one of the most iconic cultural sites in the ancient city. The layers of stone blocks at the base of the wall were laid around 20 B.C., when Temple Mount and the Jewish Second Temple were rebuilt by the Roman client-king...

Apr 18, 2017

Google Earth Virtual Reality Will Take You to Any Address in the World

A new Google Earth Virtual Reality (VR) feature allows users to enter any address — whether it's grandma's house or a 19th-century castle in Germany — and fly over it in 3D with a VR headset. When Google Earth VR debuted, people could virtually visit a number of popular tourist...

Apr 21, 2017

Tour London's Natural History Museum in VR with David Attenborough

You'll soon be able to take a hands-on tour of London's Natural History Museum with famed naturalist Sir David Attenborough, right from the comfort of your couch. The new project combines interactive virtual-reality (VR) technology with a TV documentary, in which a hologram of Attenborough takes viewers behind the glass...

May 4, 2017

Follow a Complete Everest Expedition in New VR Film

Want to climb the world's tallest mountain, but don't want to leave the comfort of your own home? Now you can, thanks to a new virtual-reality documentary series that allows you to experience the most notorious mountaineering journey in the world. Capturing Everest is a new four-episode VR series that...