VR workshops become a reality for Peterborough schools

Organisers of Peterborough STEM Festival, which takes place on October 12, have been awarded funding from the Viridor in Peterborough Community Fund to take VR workshops to the classroom - and have already visited Bishop Creighton Academy.

Pupils learned how to digitally sculpt and paint in 3D space using VR headsets and laptops, and a range of programs such as Tiltbrush, Oculus Medium, Tvori and Google Blocks.

The funding was awarded as part of the Viridor in Peterborough Community Fund which aims to support the activities of local community associations and projects. As part of the festival’s aims to raise the awareness of STEM in Peterborough, the event team seized the opportunity to partner with local virtual reality artist Lee Mason to bring VR workshops into the classroom.

STEM Festival co-founder Jonathan Frascella said: “As a non-commercial volunteer community group, support from sponsorship and grants is essential to helping us achieve our vision.”

Lee, who is running the workshops added: “I firmly believe immersive computing will revolutionise the creative industries. VR headsets are set to find their way into every corner of art and design and I thoroughly enjoy sharing my workflows with others. It’s never been easier for artists to translate ideas into a 3D space and it’s only a matter of time before this is simply the way things are done.”

The Virtual Reality workshops are one of the many ways in which the Peterborough STEM Festival team aims to develop a love of science, technology, engineering and maths among the city’s young people. Find out more at www.peterboroughstemfestival.co.uk