On September 16th, 2025, the SIMPLE team in Thailand organized an immersive program for students from the Pre-Olympic Science Camp at Sirindhorn Science Home (SSH), Lecture Room 1, NSTDA, Pathum Thani. All participating students came from the southern provinces of Thailand, and for many, it was their very first encounter with Virtual Reality (VR).

Many students tried VR technologies for the first time

Many activities organized by the SIMPLE team in Thailand

The program introduced students to urgent environmental issues such as forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and forest restoration. Using SIMPLE’s first Virtual Universe for Thailand, “BiodiVRestorer”, the team combined VR with a series of interactive learning activities, including:

• Introduction to biodiversity in Thailand
  
• Understanding forest degradation and biodiversity loss
  
• Exploring forest restoration processes
• Rapid Site Assessment (RSA) through Augmented Reality (AR) technology
• Seed collection planning and plant phenology
  
• Training on how to use VR headsets
• Observing the results of forest restoration after the VR seed collection game

Students got excited towards the RSA activities

The response from students was overwhelmingly positive. Quiz-based activities with small prizes kept the atmosphere energetic, while the AR map activity and RSA calculations captured strong interest. 

Notably, The VR seed collection game (the Virtual Universe on “Biodiveristy”) further encouraged teamwork. Students without headsets supported their peers using cards to suggest which plants to collect, creating dynamic interaction and collaboration among them. Even after gameplay ended, they continued discussing results and strategies with each other.

Students tried the VR seed collection game for the first time

This event demonstrated the strong potential of VR and AR technologies as powerful tools for interactive science education, sparking excitement and raising awareness about biodiversity and sustainability among Thailand’s youth.

Looking ahead, the SIMPLE team in Thailand is already working on the second Virtual Universe, which will expand on “BiodiVRestorer” to provide a more comprehensive learning experience on biodiversity and forest restoration.