Clearly nothing is status quo right now. Throughout the country, most K-12 schools have closed their doors for the foreseeable future, as have universities, libraries, museums, and cultural sites like the U.S. Capitol here. Even in the best of situations, parents and caretakers are having to make it up as they go, figuring out new schedules, seeking creative outlets, and assessing educational options - not to mention practicing “social distancing” at a time when we need our “villages” the most. As parents ourselves, we get it. Oh, we get it.
With actual travel nixed for the time being, we want to remind you about our free virtual reality app “Boulevard presents: American Experience: Revolution, Perseverance, Innovation.” You can download the app from the Oculus Store (for Gear VR and the Oculus Go).
Whether you are 8 or 88 – this VR app is a pretty awesome way to explore some of D.C.’s most important national treasures and sites. “American Experience” allows visitors (users in virtual reality parlance) to experience the underpinnings of democracy and the hopes and struggles that have shaped America from the Age of Exploration to the current day through a presentation of 76 objects, including paintings, photographs, pamphlets, maps, and other historic documents drawn from the collections of: the U.S. Capitol, the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, and the White House.
Our immersive experience starts inside the U.S. Capitol Building Rotunda and includes a holographic map of D.C. with portals to three other cultural sites. Because the experience is self-directed (and not “on the rails” as most VR experiences are today), Boulevard users can examine the objects they want to, get really close to them, listen to audio narration – or not, and engage with whatever interests them. You will definitely feel present in these spaces – like an IRL field trip (wait until you see how high the Rotunda ceiling is!) + you can get there in mere seconds, any time you want.
If you are starting to go stir crazy, or need somewhere to “take” the kids, we highly recommend a virtual trip to D.C.! It’s only an app away, and it’s free.
*Boulevard Arts has also developed a bunch of educational resources around the “American Experience” app. We would be happy to share any of these materials in pdf. form with teachers, parents/caregivers, students, life-long learners, or anyone else who is just interested in deeper engagement.
In fact, we have basic lesson plans, talking points, project suggestions, and other resources available for almost all of our virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. So, just reach out to us at Hello@blvrd.com and we will email them to you.