Founders Memorial Library, 71North Partnership
Studio, https://innovation.niu.edu/71
217 Normal Rd, DeKalb, IL 60115

Are you interested in the realm of Virtual reality but never used it before it before? You’re in luck! Come on down to the 71 North Partnership studio which is located on the lower level of the library to dive deep into the world of virtual reality. Through the use of a Meta Quest 2 and the application, First Steps, you will learn the very basics of what the headset can do along with what VR has to offer! In this experience you will start by getting used to the controllers of the headset. The experience will teach you have to use the buttons on the controllers, how to operate the joysticks, how to properly hold the controller, and even introduce you to hand tracking which is used in many virtual reality apps. Next, you will be able to do a series of activities that range from virtual ping pong, shooting range with virtual cartoon guns and lastly dancing with a virtual robot. How fun does this sound!? Being able to go into a completely different world while being in the library is a unique experience. The First Steps experience is one that requires all new beginners to virtual reality to participate in to assure that they have the basics down before participating in our more advanced experiences. No need to feel intimidated if this is something that you have never done before. One of our employees will be there to guide you each step of the way!
Upon completing First Steps, you will be able to experience experiences from the historic Martin Luther King Jr ‘I have a Dream’ speech to a mindfulness experience that will be studied to determine whether or not it would be beneficial to use virtual reality to improve the mindfulness and relaxation habits of college students. Don’t miss this opportunity to embark on a unique and fun experience in virtual reality which you can only experience at the Office of Innovation! If you are interested please use this link to register. We look forward to launching your endeavors in VR!