Geography

Blueplanet VR Explore

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$24.99 on Meta Quest Blueplanet VR Photogrammetry locations Meta Quest • PC VR
On Quest since 20 May 2021 • More than 40 real world locations • Rated 3.4 from 147 reviews

Blueplanet VR Explore

Walk through more than 40 natural and cultural heritage sites, rebuilt in 3D from thousands of real photographs. From the temple of Borobudur in Indonesia to Bears Ears National Monument in the United States, each location can be explored on foot, and some from a virtual hang glider.

Developer: Blueplanet VR
Price: $24.99 on Meta Quest
Platform: Meta Quest • PC VR
Subject: Geography • History • Heritage
6.6
/10
XR School Score
Worth a Look
Real places captured by photogrammetry • Free movement • Heritage and landscape sites • Information about each place • Mixed ratings • Pricier than alternatives
3.4 • Meta store 147 reviews (Mixed)
Overview

Blueplanet VR Explore is a virtual travel app from the studio Blueplanet VR. It first released on PC VR headsets and came to Meta Quest on 20 May 2021, where it costs $24.99. Its locations are built with photogrammetry, a technique that creates 3D models by stitching together thousands of real world photographs, which gives a strong sense of standing in a real place.

The app includes more than 40 natural and cultural heritage locations around the world, such as Borobudur Temple in Indonesia and Bears Ears National Monument in the south western United States. You can move around freely within each environment, view some from a virtual hang gliding experience, and bring up information about your surroundings. A later version folded earlier expansion packs into the base app. On Meta Quest it is rated 3.4 from 147 reviews, a Mixed score, and it is rated for everyone.

Standing in Real Places Unlike 360 photos, photogrammetry builds real 3D spaces you can walk around in. Students can look closely at the carvings of a temple or the shape of a canyon from different angles, which makes Blueplanet useful for studying both landforms and historic sites.
What Students Can Do
🏝️
Explore
Walk freely through more than 40 locations.
🏛️
Visit heritage sites
Temples, monuments and historic places.
🪂
Fly over
See some locations from a virtual hang glider.
ℹ️
Learn
Bring up information about each place.
Value Check At $24.99, Blueplanet costs more than many travel apps, and its ratings are mixed. Its strength is the quality of individual, carefully captured places rather than global coverage. If you want to visit anywhere, a Street View app such as Wander covers far more ground; Blueplanet goes deeper into fewer places.
Blueplanet vs Wander
Feature
Blueplanet VR Explore
Locations
More than 40 detailed sites
Almost anywhere with Street View
Movement
Walk freely in 3D
Jump between photo spheres
Price
$24.99
$9.99
Best for
Close study of landforms and heritage
Wide ranging virtual fieldwork
Classroom Value
Geography value
7.6
Visual quality
8.0
Curriculum links
7.0
Ease of setup
8.0
Value for money
5.0
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
  • Real locations captured by photogrammetry
  • Walk around freely in 3D
  • Natural and cultural heritage sites
  • Hang gliding views of some locations
  • Runs standalone on Quest
  • Rated for everyone
Considerations
  • $24.99 is high for the content
  • Mixed user ratings
  • Limited number of locations
  • Information is brief
  • Some locations more detailed than others
For Teachers: Landforms and Heritage Use Blueplanet to examine landforms in GCSE physical geography, such as canyons and coastal features, or heritage sites in history and RE. Ask students to sketch and annotate a feature they explore, then research how it formed or why it was built.
$24.99
Meta Quest 1, 2, Pro, 3 and 3S • Also on PC VR
Get on Meta Quest → More geography apps →
Quick Facts
Developer
Blueplanet VR
Quest release
20 May 2021
Price
$24.99
Locations
More than 40
Technique
Photogrammetry
Rating
3.4 from 147 reviews
Age rating
Everyone
Verdict
Blueplanet VR Explore offers detailed, walkable recreations of real landscapes and heritage sites, and it runs easily on Quest. Its ratings are mixed and it is expensive for the number of locations, so it suits departments wanting close study of particular places. Worth a look, especially if you can find it on sale.

Gareth Griffiths

Gareth Griffiths is a scientist and the founder of World of Teaching, a free library of over 1,000 teacher made PowerPoints. He set up The XR School to help teachers, schools and parents find virtual and augmented reality apps that genuinely help young people learn, and to give an honest view of what each app teaches, which headsets it needs and what it costs.