Nature Builder AR

The Oxford X-Reality Hub, in collaboration with Oxfordshire County Council and Natural England embarked on a research project to ask the question “Is there a role for Augmented Reality (AR) as part of Nature-Based Learning (NBL)?”

The use of technology in nature education is a newly emerging research trend. Innovative applications of digital technology have been accomplished through other venues, such as museums and classrooms. Researchers are at the preliminary stage of evaluating how digital technologies may help educate children about the natural world. Therefore, this project sought to explore the potential applications of augmented reality (AR) to enhance children’s nature-oriented educational experience. We experimented with AR because we suspected prompting children to explore nature through technology would be relevant in our technologically saturated cultural environment.

A Preliminary Report on the Initial AR Prototype published with Natural England will soon follow.