LSC guests build a VR galaxy via astronomy experience Visceral Science
On March 9, 2024, Liberty Science Center partnered with Verizon to pilot an all-new VR astronomy experience: Visceral Science. Throughout the day in LSC’s Weston Family Lab for Earth and Space Exploration, educators guided guests in building and evolving their own stars in a multiplayer virtual reality (VR) galaxy!
Verizon partnered with Abelana VR, a software development group, to develop VR applications that would help educators communicate difficult topics. A major limitation for current textbooks and models is their static nature: they don’t move or change. So when it comes to observing something like star evolution and planet formation, VR opens a breathtaking world of possibilities – a world Liberty Science Center was excited to share with its young visitors.
Upon entry to the Weston Lab, guests were briefed on the controls and goals of Visceral Science. In short, as the masters of the universe, guests were given a cosmic scavenger hunt: (1) make a star, (2) make a planet, (3) make a white dwarf, and (4) make a neutron star or black hole.
With those milestones in mind, guests dove into a virtual galaxy interconnected with the other users in the room. Gliding across the cosmos, they hunted for dust clouds called nebulae and used their time lasers to age them into stars. Drawing close to the stellar giants, they collected sediments to make orbiting planets. Once complete, guests aged these stars even further to explore their cosmic afterlife as white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes.
Liberty Science Center is working closely with Abelana VR and Verizon to continue pushing the boundaries of educational awesomeness. With VR becoming a mainstay of society, don’t be surprised if you see Visceral Science again soon in schools, homes, and Liberty Science Center!
