For less than £5 – often free – you can learn everything from space to art to the big bang. All it takes is a bit of augmented reality accessible from your mobile phone.
Forget FOMO [Fear Of Missing Out]. If you’re a parent worrying about what to do with your kids in the half of February, you may be experiencing FOSH – Fear Of School Holidays.
Juggling is daunting when the holidays swing around. Pay bills, have fun, meet deadlines. That’s a lot for the parents. But the half-year in February is particularly grueling. First off, having only just shelled for Santa’s offerings, many of us are feeling too broke to book wall-to-wall indoor activities. The clocks don’t change until next month, so it’s too gray to spend long afternoons in the park either. Plus, it’s cold and flu season right now, so there’s bound to be someone sniffling and shivering.
But don’t panic. There are a plethora of educational, fun augmented reality (AR) apps out there that will transport your kids into space, turn them into scientists, or send them on a safari vacation for free (or for less than a fiver).
“Kids can often rotate 3D models, create virtual creations in 3D space, or experience settings in a more realistic way,” says Christine Elgersma of Common Sense Media.
“Active learning is always more impactful than passive learning, and AR can bring interactive elements to the learning experience that are missing from watching a video or just listening. When it comes to creativity, AR can really shine.”
In contrast to virtual reality, AR does not require a headset or additional technology. Just download the app to your smartphone, connect it to your camera and off you go.
Civilizations AR app
Developed to accompany the BBC documentary of the same name, this app allows children to spin a globe, select a historical artefact from any region and have it magically appear in 3D in front of them, on their wardrobe or on the breakfast table .
You can turn an Egyptian mummy over, take a magnifying glass to it, turn it over and even look inside. Or look beneath the surface of a Renaissance masterpiece. There is also information about each artifact.
Free on the App Store or Google Play
SkyView Lite
Point your phone at the sky and it comes alive. The constellations, stars and satellites around you are all identified and explained. And you don’t have to travel any further than the back door.
Free on the App Store or Google Play
Big Bang AR
This app was developed by the great minds at CERN and commented on by Tilda Swinton. It takes you on an interactive journey back in time 13.8 billion years to discover how space, time and the visible universe came into being. You can literally hold the universe in the palm of your hand. It’s fascinating and a real education for all ages.
Free on the App Store or Google Play.
DinosAR
Place a brachiosaurus egg on the coffee table and watch a 3D dinosaur come to life in your own living room. You can make them walk, eat, and even snore. Just like Jurassic Park, sans the blood and guts. Two dinosaurs are included free with the app, one Dinosaur of the Day requires watching an ad, and more unlock with cash.
Free on the App Store or Google Play.
Animal Safari AR
Don’t have enough funds for an African safari? No problem. With this app you can let giraffes, buffalo, elephants and more roam the wilderness of your backyard. Select a location through your camera, then choose an animal (many are free, but more require in-app purchases). You can feed it, learn more about it, listen to it, take a picture of it and much more.
Free on the App Store or Google Play
Wonderlab AR
Developed by the Science Museum in collaboration with the geniuses behind Pokémon Go, Wonderlab works like a treasure hunt.
Geospatial technology allows you to locate nearby points of interest on a map, from lamp posts and mailboxes to wind farms and bike racks. Walk to one, point your phone, and you’ll find interactive games and visual effects that illuminate the science that makes them work, and also log your discoveries.
“We know from decades of working with young people that they are endlessly curious and eager to learn,” said Dave Patten, Head of New Media at Science Museum Group.
“Our hope with the app is that by using this cutting-edge AR technology, it will not only take science beyond the walls of classrooms and museums into a context for young minds, but inspire them to learn more about how our day-to-day life life is shaped by science.”
Free on the App Store or Google Play
The Keeper of Images and the Palette of Perception
Okay, the latter will require you to leave home, but we promise it will be worth it. The National Gallery recently launched a new app for 7-11 year olds. Children visiting the gallery are asked to help a fictional keeper of the paintings find a lost “Palette of Perception” – a magical object with special “power” that creates gems.
Users move through the real gallery, finding the paintings involved in the app’s story, solving puzzles, discovering hidden secrets and collecting the gems associated with each one.
It’s completely free, and since its story revolves around the gallery’s free permanent collection, downloading unlocks a rare afternoon of free entertainment in the capital, as well as a sneaky way of teaching kids about art history.
Free on the App Store or Google Play
usefull links
Civilizations AR app
SkyView Lite
Big Bang AR
DinosAR
Animal Safari AR
Wonderlab AR
The Keeper of Images and the Palette of Perception
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