My Oculus has been getting a lot of my attention. I’m an avid gamer, and the virtual reality console allows me to play things like dominoes, and active games where I can box, fish, meditate, and shoot zombies.
One game in particular, Supernatural, allows players to exercise in places across the world from the comfort of their living rooms. With my Oculus, I’ve worked out near the pyramids in Sudan, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, and inside a volcano in Ethiopia. I’ve also done my squats in places home to the U.S., such as Oregon’s Crater Lake and the white sand dunes of New Mexico, both units of the National Park Service.
Virtual reality provides an exciting opportunity to expand access to landmarks at home and abroad. In the U.S. specifically, the National Park Service has over 400 units. The average person won’t be able to visit them all in person, but it is possible to experience them through virtual reality. This technology can open up national parks, landmarks, and historic preservation to new populations, especially as it becomes more mainstream and more affordable.
This would not be a new phenomenon. Companies like Home Depot and Wayfair use it to help consumers plan home decoration and renovation projects. People are already using virtual reality to explore nuclear reactors in Chernobyl safely, examine how mitochondria powers cells, participate in a Tuskegee Airmen flight simulation, and experience a Black Lives Matter protest with Killer Mike. I once used it at the Essence Music Festival to allow attendees to observe the work done to preserve the home of Madam C.J. Walker.
Virtual reality also allows people to hear from Betty Soskin, who, at 99, is the country’s oldest park service ranger. Betty works at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, where she interprets Rosie the Riveter history and highlights the stories of African Americans and other people of color, who are usually excluded from war narratives. Through virtual reality, this program becomes a more immersive experience than any video can convey.
We are on the brink of experiencing the world around us in ways that are more special than we realize. Increasing access to these experiences through virtual reality means that more people can learn and discover our history and legacy like never before. I’m excited to see what worlds and stories open up to us because of it.