How VR centers can add an education line

The opportunity: weekday mornings

Many VR arcades and free-roam centers concentrate their customers in the afternoons, evenings and weekends. On weekday mornings, the arena, the headsets and often part of the team are available but idle. School groups move precisely during those hours.

An education line means offering schools sessions with educational content during school hours: the same arena and headsets, a different audience, a different time slot. This guide explains the model as we see it from inside a VR center, without promising figures we cannot check.

What schools need from you

• Content with clear learning goals, adapted to ages and to the curriculum. Entertainment games are not enough: teachers need to justify the outing.
• A predictable format: about 40 minutes per group, groups of up to 10, and a plan for the rest of the class while they wait.
• Safety and trust: a delimited play area, a facilitator present at all times, hygiene between groups, no student accounts.
• Languages: in Catalonia and Spain, at least Catalan and Spanish; English opens international schools.
• Simple paperwork: a clear quote, an invoice the school can process, and information for families.

Schools that consider an outing usually compare it with other options; our guide VR school trips shows what a teacher has to organize, and helps you anticipate their questions.

The business model: pay per player

With ExploreBox, the center does not pay a monthly fee or an upfront fee for the content. It buys prepaid credits, and one credit is one player in one game. Credits do not expire, and usage is recorded even without internet and synchronized later.

That means the content cost is directly tied to activity: if there are no school groups one week, there is no content cost that week. The center sets its own price for schools, taking into account its staff time, the arena and the headsets.

We do not publish credit prices in this guide; ask us for the conditions for your center. Volume discounts exist for distributors (see Distributors).

Operations: what changes in your arena

Space and headsets

Our games are designed for play areas from 6 × 6 to 10 × 10 m with PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise headsets. Some adventures keep everything interactive inside 6 × 6 m, so they also fit in smaller rooms. Up to 10 players share the same world.

The launcher

The game master runs everything from a laptop: calibration of the room in about 5 minutes, battery and status of each headset, start, pause, hints and recalibration. The games work offline. Details on the Platform page.

Staff

Your game masters already know how to run groups; with school groups the tone changes. They need to know the story and learning goals of each game, talk to teachers, and manage waiting students. A short internal training and a script for the welcome and the wrap-up make a big difference.

Scheduling

A class of 25 in groups of up to 10 means about three rounds of 40 minutes. Plan the morning in blocks, with time to clean headsets and change batteries between classes.

Selling to schools

• Start local. Schools close to your center are the easiest: short transport and no overnight stays.
• Speak the teachers' language. Present each game by subject, age and learning goal, not by graphics or adrenaline.
• Open your doors. A free demo for teachers or the school's leadership team is often the most convincing argument.
• Plan by school term. Schools plan outings in advance; contact them early in the school year and before each term.
• Make follow-up easy. Offer ideas for before and after the session; our game pages include a teacher's guide you can share.
• Collect feedback. Ask teachers what worked and adjust the format.

Choosing the educational content

The content is what the teacher is really buying. Look for:

• Clear learning goals and age ranges, explained on a page you can share with schools.
• Real cooperation: tasks that need several players, so the whole group is involved.
• Short, predictable durations, with short versions for tight schedules.
• Several titles for different subjects and ages, so the same school can come back.
• Offline operation and no student accounts, which simplifies data protection.

Our catalog combines full adventures and short kits: see Experiences.

Common questions from schools

• "Is it safe?" Explain the play area, the facilitator, the wireless headsets and the hygiene between groups. Offer a visit.
• "Is it just a game?" Show the learning goals and the teacher's guide of the game you propose.
• "What about the rest of the class?" Present your plan for waiting groups.
• "Can every student take part?" Explain the alternative roles for students who cannot or do not want to use a headset.

How to know whether it works

Track a few simple indicators of your own: how many morning slots are filled each month, how many schools book again the following term, how long each class actually takes, and what teachers say afterwards. Adjust the offer from there.

Setting your school price

Each center sets its own price for schools. Without giving figures, these are the elements most centers consider:

• the content cost per player (with ExploreBox, one credit per player and game);
• the staff time per class, including welcome, rounds and wrap-up;
• the use of the arena and the headsets during hours that would otherwise be idle;
• extras such as an activity for waiting groups or teaching materials;
• the price that schools in your area are used to paying for other outings.

A simple per-student price, with teachers free and clear cancellation conditions, makes the school's decision easier.

Building a relationship with schools

An education line grows by repetition: a school that comes back every year with each new class is worth more than many one-off visits. Keep a record of which game each school played and with which grade, propose a different title the following year, and share news about new content before each term. Teachers talk to each other: a good experience in one school often brings the next.

Before you start: checklist

1. Free weekday morning slots and an arena of at least 6 × 6 m.
2. Compatible headsets (PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise) and a laptop for the launcher.
3. Educational content in the languages of your schools.
4. Safety protocol: play area, facilitator, hygiene, family information.
5. A school price, a quote template and an invoicing process.
6. Trained game masters and a script for welcome and wrap-up.
7. A list of nearby schools and a plan to contact them.

If you want to see it working, we run our own arena in Granollers (see Our VR center), and the full offer for centers is on VR arcades.

Frequently asked questions