Augmented reality brings science to life for York primary school kids

But imagine you could look inside a cow and see what actually happens as it digests its food…

That’s just what primary school children at a York academy chain have been able to do, thanks to a bit of hi-tech wizardry being designed in York.

A team from the Epic Science research project at York St John University have been developing an ‘augmented reality’ tool to make science teaching more fun and engaging.

They have been taking an exhibition about the project into schools in York. And in British Science Week earlier this month, children from Haxby Road Primary – part of the Ebor Academy Trust – actually got to test the new system out.

Pupils at Haxby Road Primary Academy - from left, Ben, Alan, Freya and Joshua - use their augmented reality tablets watched by Warren Fearn, left, and classroom teacher Jake Reeves-Kemp (Image: Tim Moat)

The session involved them using hand-held tablets to investigate a series of displays about climate change-related topics, including habitats, materials, renewables and healthy eating.

As they hovered their tablets over the displays, the tablets’ cameras activated 3-D ‘augmented reality’ visuals which appeared to pop up before the children’s eyes.

The 3-D visuals enabled them to follow a bee around its environment – and even see inside a cow as it was digesting its food…

The reactions from the children were predictably enthusiastic.

“It's cool and things popped up. It's epic!” said one.

“It's easy to follow and you can move around with it. You can't do that with YouTube!” said another.

“Better than Tiktok!” added a third.

The tool was developed by a multi-disciplinary team at York St John, with the help of £18,500 of funding from Fortnite creator Epic Games.

A 3-D glimpse into the heart of science: one of the Haxby Road children using her 'augmented reality' tablet (Image: York St John/ Ebor Academy Trust)

The aim, says project leader Warren Fearn, is to ‘develop a new way of teaching science to primary school children’.

Warren, an associate professor in virtual and augmented reality, was responsible for designing the software, while the science input came from Dr Katy Bloom, associate professor in initial teacher education.

Warren said augmented reality – which does not require headphones - was felt to be more appropriate for primary-age children than full Virtual Reality or VR.

“Using a headset at a young age isn't ethical practice,” he said.

“The distance between a child's eyes may be too small for (a VR) headset's lens adjustment range, which increases the risk of blurry vision, eye strain, nausea, or headaches.”

But augmented reality offered huge potential for primary-age children, he said.

Children from Haxby Road Primary cluster around their augmented reality tablet (Image: York St John University/ Ebor Academy Trust)

Jake Reeves-Kemp, a classroom teacher at Haxby Road Primary and computing lead for Ebor Academy Trust who has also been working on the project, joined the class testing out the app.

It was a ‘resounding triumph’, he said. “The children were captivated, watching scientific concepts come to life before their eyes.

“It was a celebration of exploration and experimentation - the true heart of science.”

Following workshops in schools, the project team will now work with the children and teachers to decide on the next stage of the project.

But Warren said ultimately the aim was to develop the augmented reality tool as a key part of classroom learning.

“Despite the growing potential of using augmented reality, there remains a low uptake for teaching due to constraints in primary classrooms,” he said.

“We are hoping that by showing the software in action to children and teachers we can present new opportunities for engagement.”