The unique capabilities of VR aren’t just for video games. Creators are using it to provide educational experiences that people may not find otherwise. You will learn to use tools that were once only available to highly-trained professionals and educators.

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You will learn how the human body works, see the amazing things humans have created throughout history, explore our planet, and travel through the vast world of outer space in fully made-for VR environments. The games on this list provide such an immersive experience that you will forget their entire purpose is to educate.

Updated July 5, 2022, by Matthew Kevin Mitchell: We understand the importance of VR’s application as an educational tool. We aim to provide you with the best resources and entries to make this decision easier for you. We have updated this article to include two additional educational VR entries for a total of 12. We have also included a table below each entry picture that provides additional information on the subject matter, the game's ESRB rating, and the support VR devices for each entry. Let's jump into some VR learning.

12 InMind 2 VR

John From InMind 2 VR

Subject:

Emotional Intelligence

Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus

The Disney movie Inside Out and Lovheim’s theory of emotions inspired luden.io during the development process of InMInd 2 VR. You will learn how brain chemistry influences emotions by going inside the brain of a teenage boy named John. Experience what he does and trigger the proper emotions during specific scenarios. John will grow into an adult as the game progresses, providing increasingly tricky emotions for you to manage. Based on the emotions you trigger, he'll react differently to the world around him — these emotional responses build his interests and relationships.

11 Mission: ISS: Quest

Promotional Art For Mission ISS Quest

Subject:

Physics

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Oculus

Mission: ISS: Quest is an Emmy-nominated simulation game where you board the International Space Station to experience what it is like to be an astronaut. Real-life NASA astronauts will take you on a guided tour through the ISS by using informative videos and images. The game also features interactive experiences like learning how to operate a robot arm and spacewalking outside the ISS space station to a nearby satellite.

Users have reported this game can cause motion sickness, so keep this in mind if you are prone to it when using VR.

10 Virtuoso

Playing Drums In Virtuoso

Subject:

Music

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus

Virtuoso provides a sandbox environment where you can learn how musical instruments work, how to make music, and the ability to record your creations to share with the world. Six different instruments can be played separately or recorded together to make a cohesive track.

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The game features tools like scales, tempo sync, and a looper that will teach you how to stay on pitch and in time, just like a real instrument. The in-game tutorial provides you with an interactive experience that will make you become a virtuoso in no time!

9 National Geographic Explore VR

Promotional Art For National Geographic Explore VR

Subject:

Geography

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Oculus

In National Geographic Explore VR, you take on the role of a reporter hired to capture images for the National Geographic magazine. Embrace your inner explorer by traveling to two vastly different locations in this fully Emmy-nominated interactive experience.

In Antarctica, you will search for a lost empire penguin colony while braving a snowstorm, kayaking around icebergs, and climbing an ice shelf. In Machu Picchu, you will find digital reconstructions of an Inca citadel while experiencing many of the sacred rituals performed by its lost inhabitants.

8 Great Paintings VR

Mona Lisa Painting From Great Paintings VR

Subject:

Arts

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus, Windows

As famous American painter Edward Hopper once said: “If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.” Throughout history, people have expressed themselves by putting paint on canvas. Great Paintings VR brings you all these notable works of art in one easy-to-visit exhibit. There are over one thousand works of art from painters like Hieronymus Bosch and Leonardo da Vinci. The game allows you to explore galleries or access a particular artist’s work individually, depending on your desired experience.

The game also has a beautiful and relaxing soundtrack to get you in the mood.

7 The Body VR: Journey Inside A Cell

Inside Bloodstream From The Body VR Journey Inside A Cell

Subject:

Human Anatomy

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC

The Body VR is a non-interactive, professionally narrated experience that takes you inside the body of a human. You will travel from the heart through the bloodstream to various locations in the body while learning how the cells in our body function. You will then travel inside a cell to learn about different parts of its structure. Finally, you will see how cells in our body fight off the most common diseases that make us sick.

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The Body VR’s interface and audio are available in six different languages.

6 Pandemic By Prisms

Algebra Models In Pandemic By Prisms

Subject:

Algebra

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Oculus

Pandemic by Prisms teaches algebra by immersing you in a living environment where a pandemic is spreading. You will learn things such as graphing, equations, and exponential functions by joining a virtual task force that uses algebra to determine an informed course of action during public health issues like a pandemic.

The game shows you how a virus can spread and explores how math modeling influences the daily public policies that impact us. This is an excellent tool for students that struggle to understand why some policies were made during our pandemic in 2020.

5 Ocean Rift

In-Game Screenshot From Ocean Rift

Subject:

Zoology

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus, Windows

Ocean Rift is an aquatic safari park with 12 different habitats for you to explore. These habitats include places like swamps, shipwrecks, coral reefs, and the lost city of Atlantis. You will see wildlife like sharks, rays, dolphins, sea lions, whales, and dinosaurs.

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By activating the education mode, you will learn about the wildlife inhabitants using forty fully narrated points spread across the habitats. The game features a state-of-the-art procedural animation system that provides lifelike behavior from every animal in the game.

4 VR Battleship Yamato

Yamato Battleship From VR Battleship Yamato

Subject:

History

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus, Windows

The Japanese built the biggest ever battleship in 1941 during World War 2. However, American carrier planes sank The Yamato in 1945, causing it to be lost to future generations. In VR Battleship Yamato, you will experience this monstrous battleship in a complete VR environment by becoming a virtual crew member. You will help your fellow crew members command the ship as they did in World War 2. T

The Yamato is fully explorable from the deck down to the ship’s kitchen, all created in amazingly accurate detail. Another neat experience is seeing and hearing the Yamato’s massive cannons fire.

3 Anne Frank House VR

Promotional Art For Anne Frank House VR

Subject:

Social Studies

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Oculus

During the Second World War, Anne Frank, her family, and four others lived in a Secret Annex to escape Nazi persecution. Anne Frank House VR lets you experience what it was like for them to live here from 1942 to 1944. You will get to explore the different rooms of the Secret Annex while learning from thoughts directly from Anne.

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Not only will you discover about Anne Frank’s life while living in the Secret Annex, but you will also learn about the seven other inhabitants — their backgrounds, Anne’s interactions with them, and what happened to them after being discovered.

2 We Are Stars

Star From We Are Stars

Subject:

Earth Science

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus, Windows

NSC Creative is a studio at the National Space Centre, UK. They created We Are Stars with additional input from scientists, astrophysicists, and planetary scientists. Have you ever wondered what the planetariums in the future will be? We Are Stars provides you with the answer.

Narrated by Andy Serkis, this 25 minutes experience will leave you breathless. Acclaimed New Zealand composer Rhian Sheehan was hired to create the game’s score. In a 360-degree 4K experience, you will learn the origins of our solar system and how our planet was made.

1 SpaceEngine

View Of The Earth From SpaceEngine

Subject:

Astronomy

ESRB Rating:

E (Everyone)

VR Support:

Valve, HTC, Oculus, Windows

SpaceEngine is a 1:1 scale universe simulator where you can explore everything in our solar system and beyond. The game has a spacecraft that follows Newtonian physics allowing you to travel anywhere in the universe. Each planet has 3D procedural generated terrain, which means nothing is off-limits in this game. If you can see it, you can explore it in breathtaking detail.

A fun feature of the game is the ability to speed up time to experience the behavior of the cosmos millions of years in the future. Plus, SpaceEngine has a highly active modding community that has recreated spacecraft from popular Sci-Fi franchises.

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