Students are being transported to the Pyramids of Giza and Tutankhamun’s Tomb as they enter a 3D world in Sunderland’s Academy 360.
The mysteries of ancient Egypt are just one of 12,000 different locations and models students can immerse themselves in during lessons in the academy’s new 3D Discovery Room.
The state-of-the-art software from Gaia Technologies allows students to see inside insects and animals to study their internal organs in biology classes, or be transported into the streets of 17th Century London during the Great Plague.
Amongst the students being transported from Green Screen background in the 3D Discovery Room to the burial chamber of the famous Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, are Academy 360 students Ebony Dunn and Maci Hellens, both11.
Ebony said: “It’s great to see what we look like in Egyptian times. It makes learning about these things really interesting when you can see yourself standing in these places.”
Rachel Donohue, Academy 360 Principal, said: “The 3D Discovery Room is an exciting way to inspire young people about learning. Both primary and secondary children have been left in awe of the spectacular ‘real-life’ experiences that the room offers.
“Earlier this year we took a group of teachers to Gaia Technology headquarters in North Wales for a weekend to learn about 3D technology and how we could use it to engage young people; they’ve done a tremendous job introducing it here at the academy – it’s a fantastic learning resource.”
Jon Rashid, head of studio at Gaia Technologies, said: “The purpose of the 3D Discovery Room is to fire the imagination and excitement of the students. It is extremely engaging but also has to be geared to be part of the teaching platform with learning embedded within it.
“The package that we have installed at Academy 360 can contain 12,000 models covering all subjects, from biology and physics to geography and history.
“It allows teachers and pupils to load a model such as a bee, to manipulate it, dissect it and look at the internal organs.
“There are full 3D environments that you can explore. At the top level of the package it will put you in an environment like walking around London during the Great Plague, listening to people and the chatter on the streets, or place you in the time of the Industrial Revolution where you get a feel for the sights and sounds of that era.”
Technology is moving forward at such a pace that students soon won’t need to wear 3D glasses to see the images on the Discovery Room’s projector screen.
The 3D Discovery Room was a huge hit with more than 100 visiting children and their parents at Academy 360 in what proved to be the most popular open evening in the academy’s nine-year history.