We The Curious and Go Virtually launch VR tour for World Autism Awareness Week
Wednesday 21 March | Jen Forster
We The Curious and Bristol-based Go Virtually have partnered to launch a new virtual reality (VR) tour of We The Curious as part of World Autism Awareness Week (26 March – 2 April).
Built as a guide to help children and adults on the autism spectrum to plan their journey around We The Curious, the visual tour is packed with information on exhibits, spaces and activities, as well as sensory stimulus and facilities. It will allow visitors to ‘experience’ We The Curious before visiting, and to have an understanding of what they might expect to see and the layout of the centre.
We The Curious runs a series of autism-friendly early morning sessions, with the next two events happening on 15 April and 24 June. The sessions were developed by the cross-departmental Participation group at We The Curious, with input from volunteers and staff who have first-hand experience of autism.
These mornings allow visitors to explore We The Curious whilst it is slightly quieter, taking part in some activities, meeting staff (who have received training in working with autism) and visiting the Planetarium. Feedback from visitors and the autism community has also been gathered, which will help to refine and develop the next series of events.
The VR tour was developed as an extension to these existing events and responding to the needs of visitors, and was informed by the Participation group and researchers at UWE. The tour took Go Virtually founder Rachel Godfrey one month to make, and can be viewed on a computer, phone, tablet and VR headset. The technology is entirely agile and flexible, the idea is that it will be edited and updated quickly following feedback from users.
We The Curious is committed to removing the boundaries between science, art, people and ideas - an educational charity, We The Curious is about empowering everyone to ask questions and get creative. One of the key Manifesto pledges for We The Curious includes a focus on enabling diverse participation by playing a part in wider positive social change, and ensuring that visitors, staff, volunteers and collaborators better reflect the diversity of the city of Bristol.
For more information, and to see the tour from 26 March, visit https://www.wethecurious.org/accessibility A series of blogs about World Autism Awareness Week will also be running on the We The Curious website from 26 March .
The next autism-friendly early morning sessions are on 15 April and 24 June. For more information, visit www.wethecurious.org or call 0117 915 1000 (Mon-Fri 9-5).
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For further information, images, or to arrange a press trip to We The Curious, please contact Jen Forster – PR Manager, on 0117 9157 152/07967 334 152 or jen.forster@wethecurious.org
You can also follow We The Curious on Twitter (@wethecurious_) or on Facebook (wethecurious). For more information, please visit www.wethecurious.org
Editor’s Notes
About We The Curious:
We The Curious was previously known as At-Bristol Science Centre; an educational charity with an aim to “make science accessible to all”, it opened in 2000, and welcomed over 5 million visitors in the past 17 years. At-Bristol relaunched as We The Curious in September 2017, with a new vision that is committed to creating a culture of curiosity.
We The Curious is an idea and a place for everyone. Our venue on Bristol’s harbourside is a bit like an indoor festival, with all sorts of different experiences, where you can interact with exhibits, test stuff out and participate rather than just visit. We’re all about empowering everyone to ask questions and get creative - with boundaries removed between science, art, people and ideas - a culture of curiosity.
About Go Virtually:
GoVirtually specialises in producing 360-degree, 3D virtual tours. When viewing a tour, customers can walk step-by-step through a building allowing people “virtually” visit a place before visiting in real life. GoVirtually started in May 2017 with the aim to improve client’s customer service by saving time and allowing customers to view buildings when most convenient to them.
Recently, GoVirtually has been focusing on making virtual tours to improve tourist attractions’ accessibility for all customers. By creating a virtual tour which includes visual, audio and relevant information about what can be found around a venue, we can improve the quality of visits to new places.