Viewing and using VR experiences requires wearing a VR headset. Some VR experiences also require hand controllers to interact more with those experiences. These experiences are sometimes referred to as VR apps. These might be virtual tours or exhibits, games, films, educational apps, etc.
The following mobile apps provide general virtual reality experiences that can be used on a Google Cardboard type platform.
The following mobile apps provide museum and exhibition-related virtual reality experiences that can be used on a Google Cardboard type platform.
First you need to download and install the free Google Arts & Culture app for your smartphone operating system.
Access these on your smartphone app, and then view them using a Google Cardboard headset.
To find other VR tours on Google Arts & Culture:
The following mobile apps provide museum and exhibition-related virtual reality experiences that can be used on the Meta/Oculus Quest 2 platform.
The following mobile apps provide related cultural heritage virtual reality experiences that can be used on a Google Cardboard type platform.
Following is a list of history-related 360 videos that can be viewed and interacted with on a VR headset.
The following locations provide general virtual reality experiences that can be used on an HTC Vive platform.
The following mobile apps provide related cultural heritage virtual reality experiences available for the HTC Vive headset.
The Meta Quest Store provides a categorized and searchable library of both free and paid apps that can be downloaded and installed on a Quest 2 headset. These can all be used via Wifi.
The Meta Quest Store does not provide a way to access just free apps. These tips will help you identify which apps are free versus which require a payment. You do not need to be logged in with a Meta or Facebook account to search and review Quest apps.
When viewing the product page for a Quest app, FREE apps will display a blue "GET" button to click on to add to your Quest profile and headset.
When viewing the product page for a Quest app, PAID apps will display a blue button with the app price to click on to add to your Quest profile and headset.
When conducting a search in the Meta Quest Store, the search results view immediately tell you if each app is free or paid. Look for the blue "GET" button or the blue button with a price to quickly determine if an app is free or not.
The app categories on the Meta Quest store do not always make it easy to identify apps related to a particular topic, such as museums and exhibitions. Use the Search feature in the store for your topics of interest. Be creative with your topic words, and spend time clicking on and reviewing each app product page, just like when searching on Google.
The following example shows Quest 2 apps from conducting a search for "museum."
Other suggested search topics for Quest 2 apps related to museums and exhibits, as well as other types of cultural heritage topics, include: "education," "art," "history," and "travel."
The Quest Store lets you watch a video preview of an app before deciding if you want to install and purchase it. You can watch these video previews on a regular computer or mobile browser, and also on your smartphone's Quest app. You do not need to be logged in with a Meta or Facebook account to preview these.
To watch the video preview for an app, hover over the app header image on the app product page. Then click on the video play button that appears.
This section focuses on the Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest 2 VR headset since that is the device used in the CSUF Pollak Library Makerspace and the CSUF Digital History Lab. The Quest 2 headset includes hand tracking technology, for a more tactile interactive experience. It can be used in a standalone environment with just WiFi, or it can be tethered to a high end gaming PC.
Following are Meta Quest 2 VR experiences available for free that I have reviewed or used and recommend for disciplines or courses in which I have provided digital literacy instruction.
Following are VR experiences available for free that I have reviewed or used and recommend for disciplines or courses in which I have provided digital literacy instruction. These work on an HTC Vive headset.
Following are smartphone VR experiences available for free that I have reviewed or used and recommend for disciplines or courses in which I have provided digital literacy instruction. These work on cardboard style and other smartphone VR headsets.