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VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES

Experience virtual reality with your family, friend, or activity group. 


The library has several pairs of Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality headsets ready and waiting for you to come and experiment. Book an on-demand experience for your group and discover what virtual reality has to offer! 


Thinking this may be an isolating experience? Though we only offer two headsets at a time, we have the ability to screencast to tablets (which can be viewed larger on a TV) so everyone in your group can see what's happening. 


Virtual reality experiences are hosted in the Basement Creative Lab, located in the west tunnel of the parking garage level (there's a giant mural on the wall--you can't miss it!)


Requests must be made at least one week in advance; please wait for a confirmation email from a library staff member before assuming your time is reserved. Please note that sessions cannot last any longer than two hours (that's how long the batteries last!) and they take two hours to fully charge in between sessions. 


Beginning September 5 2023, we will no longer accept VR reservations for Saturdays. We understand that this may be frustrating, but we are choosing to leave that day open and available for those who need extended recording studio hours. 


The following is a list of apps currently available on the headsets:


GREAT FOR FIRST TIMERS:

  • First Steps - Tutorial of how to use VR, along with two mini-games.
  • First Contact - Simple Physics exercises to get you used to VR. 
  • Ocean Rift - Swim with a variety of oceanic life in a relaxing way and learn more about them.
  • Bait! - Go fishing in a vareity of locations.
  • Wander - Google Earth in VR.
  • National Geographic Explorer - Take pictures of either Machu Pichu or Antarctica and engage in kayaking and ice climbing.
  • Google Tilt Brush - A 3D art program.
  • Gravity Sketch - A 3D art program.

POPULAR SOLO APPS:

  • Beat Saber - Dance and chop blocks in rhythm to popular songs like Eye of the Tiger, Bohemian Rhapsody, Smells like Teen Spirit and Bad Romance.
  • Fruit Ninja - Chop fruit with your swords and avoid the bombs, or pick a number of other modes, all involving some fruit dicing.
  • Star Wars: Vader Immortal - Use the Force and a lightsaber to battle against the Empire in a story driven experience on Mustafar, or step into the training arena with various droids.
  • Epic Roller Coaster - Ride in roller coasters, take pictures and participate in a shooting gallery. (WARNING: Not recommend for people/kids susceptible to motion sickness or fear of heights)
  • Elixer - Become a magician's apprentice and learn to cast spells and mix potions.
  • Super Hot - Dodge bullets and obstacles to progress through challenging levels.
  • Sports Scramble - Play Baseball, Tennis or Bowling.
  • Richie's Plank Experience - Stand on a plank outside a skyscrapper, be a flying superhero putting out fires and defending a city against missiles or deliver presents as Santa. (WARNING: Not recommend for people/kids susceptible to motion sickness or fear of heights)
  • Journey of the Gods - Pick up a sword, shield and crossbow to fight monsters in a Skyrim/Zelda inspired experience.
  • Meta Horizons - Jump online and play minigames like laser tag, Zombie survival mode and others.

MULTIPLAYER APPS:

  • Blaston - Go head to head against computer players, or play with your friend in a one v one shootout duel in a cyberpunk world. Just remember: Never. Stay. Still.
  • Gorilla Tag - Channel your primate instincts and climb trees, hang out with friends, or play a number of more competitive modes like tag, paintbrawl or hunt. A great choice for something more relaxed. (WARNING: Not recommend for people/kids susceptible to motion sickness or fear of heights)
  • Walkabout: Mini Golf - Play some rounds of mini golf together or solo in a large range of courses like a pirate ship, haunted house or the moon.
  • Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - Defuse a bomb while your friends/family shout out the solution from a manual.
  • Acron - Your family play as squirrels on phone/tablets and you try to defend yourself from them on the headset.
  • Rec Room - Play various mini-games in a variety of player created rooms either online or against each other in the same room (a lot like Roblox).

Don't see what you want? Feel free to email us suggestions! Virtual reality is new for us, and we're still learning. 

To get an idea of what some of these games will look like, check out some of our tutorials:

VR Trailer

Beat Saber

Vader Immortal

Rec Room 

 

 

BOOK A VIRTUAL REALITY SESSION

To book a VR session, go to our room reservations page and select "The Basement Creative Lab", then select your desired date and time.

Indicate that you are interested in a VR session; our staff will let you know if your request is approved or denied (requests are usually only denied if our staff is unavailable at your requested time). 

Please note: Beginning September 5, 2023, we will no longer approve VR reservations for Saturdays. We are making the choice to leave that day open for long recording sessions. 

  Request a VR Session 

A NOTE ON VIRTUAL REALITY FOR KIDS: 

Kids love to try VR! We recommend VR sessions for children over 8. If you are interested in bringing children to your VR session, here are a few things you might need to keep in mind: 

  • VR goggles are heavy; kids under eight may have a hard time getting the goggles to fit correctly and may complain of head or neck strain while playing. 
  • VR is easiest to adapt to for kids who are already reading; as a parent, you can look at the screencast from your child's VR headset but it can still be difficult to help them navigate their world if they can't read on-screen instructions. 
  • If you're switching between family members, you need to know that the headset's virtual boundaries may need to be reset between each player. 
  • VR headsets can occasionally feel disorienting and may cause motion sickness. Sometimes our youngest players do get a little frightened of objects floating in the air around them.