Electric Dreams Virtual Reality “Volo: Dreams of Flight” – Review
★★★★ 4 stars – soar through the sky and high above the earth in this exhilarating virtual reality experience for all ages.
Electic Dreams Volo is an exhilarating virtual reality experience taking place on the South Australian Museum lawns and a great way to enjoy some interactive family fun as part of a day out at the Adelaide Fringe.
Visitors are ushered to one of 8 swings available and provided with a VR headset that takes you on one of four different flying experiences depending upon which swing you are seated on. Each swing is labelled and the four options are described below:
Glider
Undulate on the solar winds as around you gliders climb and dive, weaving trails across a futuristic desertscape. But watch the skies… you are not alone in this extraterrestrial airspace.Thopter
Fly like a bird, swooping low over a tempestuous sea, through city streets, and over mountain passes. Follow your guardian angels… straight into the flightpath of a nearby airport.Copter
Propel yourself up, up and away! Perform in a swirling aerial ballet that will paint psychedelic patterns high above the countryside below. You’ll be spellbound, at least until that storm rolls in…Chute
Rocket skyward to reach the edge of space. Burst through a kaleidoscopic barrage of fireworks, then float on the breeze, swaying serenely towards the earth. But who packed your parachute?
If it’s not too busy, you may get the opportunity to choose which VR ride you would prefer but all of the rides take you on an animated journey while you are swinging back and forth on a swing which adds to the feeling of soaring through the sky.
I would recommend the Glider for anyone that has issues with heights as I found it quite engaging but not scary at all. The other three VR themes were dynamic and quite fun with our kids heading back for another turn. We also noticed other excited exclamations coming from the riders on the other VR swings who were obviously well immersed in the experience.
Parents of kids aged under 12 are allowed to accompany them while older kids will be fine to head in on their own while parents watch from the sidelines past the fence. In the unlikely event that a rider finds it all too much, they can simply yell “stop” and a friendly assistant will be on hand to help.
It’s fantastic to see that there is also a liberty swing available. Staff will be on hand to provide assistance.
All VR headsets are thoroughly cleaned between uses and people are ushered in past the queue into the fenced area in small groups to limit the number of people in the space at any one time so the space feels quite open and COVID-safe. There is also hand sanitiser available at entry.
All of the VR experiences are based on Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machines and were created to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the invention of his famous flying contraptions.
The VR experience is part of the 2022 Adelaide Fringe’s Electric Dreams Exhibition and sessions run daily throughout the Fringe from 11am until late afternoon or evening, depending on the day. Each ride runs for 4 minutes.
About Electric Dreams
Electric Dreams is an exploration of the art of immersive storytelling. Supported by the British Council, the exhibition will bring some of the best virtual, augmented and extended reality experiences by British artists working right now to Adelaide Fringe audiences. An industry conference will run alongside the exhibition and will feature leading international artists and creative technologists.
Electric Dreams is curated by Crossover Labs: award-winning producers of immersive and interactive work, Immersive Curators at CPH:DOX Copenhagen, Silbersalz Science and Media Festival Germany, and Electric Dreams Adelaide and London. Through an international programme of labs and workshops, they develop the next generation of global immersive producers.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Adelaide Fringe website.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: Play & Go 2022
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