SpaceBuzz

The primary activity of SpaceBuzz is to inspire and educate with the view of astronauts on planet Earth.

VR education program inspired by the Overview Effect and astronauts missions

The VR education program is inspired by the Overview Effect and is based on a real mission to space: pre flight training, the space journey and post flight debriefing and outreach. The program teaches, inspires and motivates children throughout the mission. Topics include Space, Earth and Technology (STEM). We also enable children to develop 21st century skills such as problem solving and creativity.

Launching millions of children into space with the SpaceBuzz rocket vehicle

A vital part of the education program is the real life mission into space with the SpaceBuzz rocket vehicle, developed with the help of astronaut André Kuipers. It provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience for children to feel what it is like to be launched to space like an astronaut. SpaceBuzz offers a multi-sensory experience, using VR, sound and moving chairs to mimic a real life space rocket launch. The massive front window is a key element during the experience, as it allows children to see and learn about the beauty, vulnerability and specifics of our planet.

Education and Virtual reality

Virtual Reality allows us to develop new and effective ways of teaching children about Space, Earth and Technology. In order to validate and optimize our educational program, SpaceBuzz collaborates with leading scientists to kickstart an international scientific research program on the effectiveness of VR-enabled learning.

Benefits of VR for learning include:

Immersion makes children more engaged, making them forget that they are learning.

Children are able to explore the world in VR, at their own pace and based on their own interests.

Children can get personal tutors, in this case real astronauts that guide them through the VR-experience.

Inclusive learning, as VR can bring personalized learning to any location in the world (e.g. through mobile virtual reality solutions on smartphones).

Proven success

Within 18 months, we developed a fully immersive VR-based educational program including the world’s first SpaceBuzz rocket vehicle for the SpaceBuzz mission, completely financed through private funding. Friends of SpaceBuzz are Adessium, Cordius, Deloitte, Dutch Space Office, MediaMonks, National Geographic, NEMO Science Children’s Museum in Amsterdam and WWF.

The world’s first SpaceBuzz rocket vehicle was unveiled in December 2018 by Dutch astronaut and co-founder André Kuipers and was extremely well received by Dutch teachers and pupils alike. Indicator of our success are that SpaceBuzz is already fully booked by schools in the Netherlands until May 2021 and that a second rocket is being built as we speak.

In October SpaceBuzz is launched globally during it’s USA tour. It will be presented at the annual conference of the Association of Space Explorers amidst 125 astronauts and the International Astronautical Conference in Washington D.C.

In search for Friends of SpaceBuzz to inspire millions of children worldwide

From the start, this program has been built with a global ambition in mind: scalable, nationally adaptable and free for all children (9-12 years old). It has an open access model with local adaptability regarding astronauts, countries and content.

In order to roll out the program internationally, we are looking for partnerships, expertise and funding. Our ideal partners would be individuals and organizations who, like us, are passionate about inspiring and educating children about Space, the Earth, and Technology (STEM) and would love to bring SpaceBuzz to their own country or region.