Virtual Reality Archives - Destination Chesterfield

Chesterfield school pupils to benefit from free VR roadshow

25th March 2022

Education supplier Seymour & Lerhn, part of Chesterfield’s Oasis Studio group are launching a VR Roadshow, giving primary schools in Chesterfield the chance to take their pupils on two weeks of amazing educational adventures.

Successful schools will receive a bundle of 5 VR headsets complete with recycled smartphones and free access to the Seymour & Lerhn Immersive Learning platform.

With this, teachers can take KS1 and KS2 pupils on a journey of discovery whether it’s wandering through the busy streets of New York, or stepping back in time to trudge through the muddy WW1 Trenches.

The VR kits will be delivered to schools to use for two weeks before being collected and sanitised for the next cohort.

Charlie Power, ‘Head Honcho’ at Seymour & Lerhn says: “At Seymour & Lerhn we challenge ourselves to make learning as interactive as possible without compromising on accessibility. A VR headset is just one of many ways to explore – but often gets the biggest reaction from children!”

Seymour & Lerhn offers immersive educational experiences for primary schools, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and interactive games and activities. The activities are accessible on any device, from laptops to iPads to interactive whiteboards.

Whilst the immersive content can be viewed on any existing school hardware, Seymour & Lerhn have joined forces with sister company, EyeSiteView, to give old technology a new lease of life.

The VR headsets were previously used by housing developers to market new homes and have been kindly gifted by EyeSiteView to make the VR Roadshow possible.

“We’re really pleased to be able to give schools in the local area the chance to explore VR in a sustainable way,” says Tony Buck, Associate Director at EyeSiteView.

“Approximately 45 million tonnes of tech is thrown away each year which is really shocking. We’re excited that the old VR headsets will get a new lease of life and give our region’s children some truly memorable lessons!”

Schools will be able to choose from a wide range of topics and subjects with teachers able to share the VR content with pupils at the click of a button.

“Content is designed to work on almost any device and comes with accessibility tools built in. It couldn’t be easier for schools to get started with immersive learning whether you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a VR kit or not!” Charlie adds.

The roadshow will run from the 1st April to the 22nd July 2022 and is open to any educational establishment within the region.

Slots are extremely limited and are offered on a first come first served basis.

To apply, head to https://forms.office.com/r/7UTS309qTs and fill in the online form.

Oasis Studio supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Chesterfield Escape Rooms among the best in the UK according to Tripadvisor

6th January 2022

Chesterfield Escape Rooms is celebrating success as the attraction has been listed among the top 10 best escape room attractions in the UK, according to reviews website TripAdvisor.

The business has shot up the rankings since its opening in Summer 2021, following hundreds of positive reviews on the site. At the time of writing, the escape room sits at number 5 in the UK rankings. You can see the list here.

Expressing his delight at the news, owner Nick Hogan said: “Living and working in a small town that encourages visitors, customer’s feedback and word of mouth referrals are so important. Trip advisor is also a huge area of interest for visitors to assess what to do when visiting the area so this was a key focus from Day 1.

“The team have been brilliant in ensuring that customers are made aware of our objective to be a top ranked Escape Room and its only with their help and support in providing on line feedback we have managed to achieve our goal. The team have to ensure they deliver a quality product every time and they have achieved that!

Nick also added that the ranking on TripAdvisor is positive news for the town as a whole, adding to Chesterfield’s visitor economy offer: “We can tell from our booking system that approximately 35-40% of our players are from outside of Chesterfield, with a growing number travelling in from Nottingham, Sheffield, Derby and even further afield! These players are using the Escape Rooms as one of the things to do in Chesterfield but then go onto to increase spend elsewhere in the local vicinity.

“There are 790 different locations offering over 2500 Escape Rooms in the UK so we are overwhelmed with the success to date. It was a real pinch yourself moment when we got into the top 5 as our target was to be a top 50 venue.

“Our next target is to consolidate our top 5 position and then try and build on it. We have a new game going into construction in February / March ready for Easter so with further support from our customers, we maybe be able to go a little higher. The visitor economy is so important to the town so the more attractions we get the better and we are delighted to be able to help out.”

Two other business have also opened in and around the Escape Rooms. Chesterfield Virtual Reality offers an arcade approach to Virtual Reality (for up to 4 players) and also offers VR Escape Rooms. Game Zone has also opened on the town, providing a mix of retro and modern day gaming in a social environment.

Those businesses, combined with the existing Geeks Headquarters on Soresby Street are coming together to offer varying solutions to the entertainment portfolio of the town in one place, all under the banner of Chesterfield Games quarter.

To find out more about the range of attractions in the Chesterfield Games Quarter, visit: www.chesterfieldgamesquarter.co.uk

Chesterfield Escape Rooms supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.