Today after school, one book kept my kids (and me) amused for over three hours!
I have been sent a book called All About Virtual Reality to review and all of us are very impressed!
Virtual reality is something that really interests my son and the second he saw the cover he started excitedly telling me that there was an app to download and a VR viewer included.
I was slightly concerned that his iphone 5 was not included in the list of newer phones which support the app, but we tried downloading it anyway and it works fine which is good news!
The book itself is a large, good quality hard back book. It is easy to read, informative and interesting. It describes simply what virtual reality is, how we see in 3D, how VR is created, how VR works on a smartphone, ways to make VR feel more real and who uses VR. There are detailed and interesting pictures which appealed to my son.
The best bit about the book by far is the inclusion of an easy to make VR viewer.
The step by step instructions are in the book and my son was able to make the viewer himself with minimal help. His top tip is to make sure you get all the pieces ready before putting it together.
Once we had made the VR viewer and downloaded the app we had tons of fun! You put the phone in the viewer and look through it. There are pages in the book with information and pictures to scan which send you into a virtual reality world!
Watching these worlds through the viewer is amazing! You can look all around you and really feel like you are there.
Even better is the fact the videos are interactive and educational! When you look at things around you, you are told all about them. My son was amazed to see the inside of the earth. My daughter loved exploring the pond and literally nearly fell off her chair when she shrunk to the size of an insect and turned to see a giant frog. I found the experience of standing on top of a volcano to be mind blowing and really fun!
We ran the phone battery down exploring Space, Ponds and Volcanos so, while we were waiting for it to charge, we used the many stickers in the back of the book to decorate our VR viewer.
Three hours after opening the book, my son is now excitedly learning about dinosaurs in a Virtual Reality world!
I am honestly so impressed with the book. The VR viewer, although made of card, is quite sturdy and holds the phone steady. The book is both educational and interesting as well as unusual! I think it is totally worth the £9.99 it costs and it would make a brilliant Christmas present for any child interested in Technology and Virtual Reality. The book and app makes learning fun! My son even said half way through a VR exploration of a Roman Colosseum “look I’m learning History”!
Is All About Virtual Reality suitable for an autistic child?
If your child is interested in technology then this is a massive YES! My son thinks this is the best book ever!
Building the viewer requires some degree of patience, an ability to follow instructions and fine motor skills so help may be needed. Even if you made the viewer for your child they could still get the enjoyment from decorating it with stickers and of course, using it.
The viewer is made of card. It is fairly strong but obviously could be broken if treated very roughly…although so could the phone!
The videos are informative and educational and do not require much skill to use.
We all really like this book!
The DK book All About Virtual Reality, by Jack Challoner, is made in association with CURISCOPE, a virtual reality studio. The book was published on 5th October 2017. It is priced at £9.99 and includes five amazing VR experiences, stickers and a free VR viewer.
We were sent the book, All About Virtual Reality, free of charge, to review on Kids on Tour – Autism without Limits. All opinions in this post are our own!
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This book looks awesome! I can’t believe it’s only £9.99. I’ll keep it in mind for Xmas presents. I need to check if my nephew can read English or get help from his parents as I don’t think it’s available in French. I love VR and I think it should be used more often for educating kids. It’s so much more interactive than usual books. It’s great to see that it’s becoming more accessible. Thanks for sharing such an interesting review.
The picture instructions are fairly easy to follow without the words but the app speaks to you in English and obviously the book text is English but it is a great book, I was really impressed!
I picked up a VR viewer like this for my nephew, we had a great time playing with it. Plus it had all kinds of educational videos we could watch.
I have seen so many different varieties of these on sale in the lead up to Christmas. I love the interactivity of the DIY version!
We did have a lot of fun making it!
I am glad to see kids still have fun with a book! Even if this is app supported, it is still a book and they will learn to love them!
This book is great! I’ve never seen something like that. And the price is more than acceptable. I really loved reading your review.
Virtual reality is going crazy with teens these days, though I have a small child right now, this VR book pleased me certainly. The instructions looked easy and wow, you son looked so happy with his new work.
VR is such a cool thing. My boyfriend has a headset for his PC and he loves it x
How cool is this?! I had no idea virtual reality had come to the world of iPhone apps. I also love that it’s being used to educate as well as entertain. I’m really excited to check it out with my grandson. x
What an awesome book and that too at a low charge. It is also true that our future will be more inclined towards virtual reality. I’m total with virtual reality and thinks it will educate children in a more engaging manner. Nice review of the VR book.
This looks so cool. I was recently talking to a friend about how I couldn’t wait till the VR stuff started coming to educational toys and books.
This VR viewer looks so cool. It is great to see that your kids had a great time reading the book and the learning experience was so much fun.
I will shamelessly admit that as an adult, I love anything virtual reality especially going to rides at Universal Studios. So I think this is such an innovative way to educate children. Why not educate AND entertain? I love it!
I love, love, LOVE the concept behind this! I have a few students that I think would benefit greatly from this. Technology is such a great motivator. I like that it gives kids something cool and interesting to focus on, and gives them a more hands-on experience.
Glad you’re enjoying your VR viewer! I got to test out the new VR software at my University where they’re doing a bunch of leading research on self-driving cars a few months ago and it was super fun!
So cool that it would work with your son’s phone. I love that you had 3 hours of entertainment with your kids with this.