The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a virtual reality summer camp in August for junior high and high school students.

The university’s Emerging Analytics Center will host the camp for rising students in grades 7-12 from noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 1-5 at the Engineering and Information Technology Building at UA Little Rock. Students will spend an action-packed week creating immersive games for the Meta Quest or Meta Quest 2.

“The virtual reality platform continues to grow exponentially,” said Sandra Leiterman, managing director of the Cyber Arena. “Now, more than ever, VR is changing the way we train professionals such as nurses, doctors, police officers, and firefighters. As of 2020, 26 million headsets are owned by individual consumers, globally. One of the biggest hindrances of VR expansion is the amount of content available.

Teaching kids how to create VR content is an exciting way to bring out the creative talent that so many young people didn’t even know they had! Plus, learning at a young age could lead to an exciting career path with tons of potential. We have an incredible learning program here at UA Little Rock  in the Emerging Analytics Center, and we are excited to share our knowledge with the next generation of virtual reality content creators.”

Access to a Facebook account is required to build Meta content. Students may bring their own Meta device or purchase one from UA Little Rock to take home at the end of camp. A limited number of Meta headsets are available for students to borrow during the camp.

The cost of the camp is $125 if students bring or borrow a device or $450 with the purchase of the Meta Quest 2. Those interested in attending may register by completing the online form.