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Discovering Digital Creativity and Play: VR Room at Mladi zmaji
Discovering Digital Creativity and Play: VR Room at Mladi zmaji
Content
This activity invites young people, youth workers, and youth organisations to explore the possibilities of virtual reality (VR) as a tool for creativity, play, and learning.
At "Mladi zmaji" - Golovec (Ljubljana, Slovenia), their newest youth centre has set up a VR Room where participants can try immersive games and experiences such as Beat Saber, Kayak VR, Google Earth VR, SUPERHOT, or even Half-Life: Alyx for older players. The games are projected on the wall, making VR a shared social experience that others can watch and engage with.
Supported by a youth VR facilitator, participants not only enjoy entertainment but also explore digital literacy, creativity, and collaboration. Beyond fun, the VR Room can also be used for independent projects in art, education, and research, making it a versatile space for youth innovation. See their story in the video below.
By completing this activity, you will:
- Experience how VR can be used for play, creativity, and exploration.
- Reflect on the role of immersive technologies in youth engagement and learning.
- Get inspired to use VR and digital tools in your own projects, organisations, and communities.
Get inspired
The VR Open programme of Mladi zmaji Golovec runs every Friday and Saturday, offering young people free access to VR equipment and experiences. It has already inspired projects in digital art (Tilt Brush, Kingspray Graffiti, Vermillion Painting), sports simulations (Kayak VR, table tennis, boxing), and storytelling adventures (Until You Fall, Zenith MMO, Half-Life: Alyx).
This initiative shows how youth centres can embrace cutting-edge technology not only for entertainment but also as a platform for creative learning and digital inclusion. It is a practical example of how VR can bring people together, build new skills, and connect local communities to global innovation.
Take action: activities for different roles
As a young person ...
- Watch the introduction video about the VR Room at Mladi zmaji Golovec and reflect on what excites you the most.
- Explore what immersive technologies you already have access to — maybe a VR headset at school, 360° videos on YouTube, or AR filters on your phone.
- Reflect how could VR be used for learning, art, storytelling, or simply to connect people in your community?
- Now be creative - sketch or design your idea of a “dream VR experience” for young people.
As a youth worker ...
- Use the video to spark discussion in your group about how digital and immersive technologies shape play, creativity, and learning.
- Explore what digital tools you already use in your practice and imagine how VR could complement them (e.g., online museum tours, AR-based apps, 3D modelling).
- Organise a creative brainstorm or role-play with young people: “If we had a VR room in our organisation, what would we use it for?”
- Research if there are any local VR/AR labs, makerspaces, or digital hubs nearby and connect with them for future activities.
As a youth manager ...
- Reflect, together with your team, on how VR or other immersive technologies could contribute to your strategic goals in youth work (e.g., inclusion, digital skills, creativity).
- Use the Mladi zmaji Golovec example as inspiration: What could a similar initiative look like in your organisation, even without expensive equipment?
- Explore partnerships with schools, libraries, universities, or tech companies in your area that may already have VR/AR facilities.
- Go further and imagine how immersive tools could be part of your organisation’s long-term digital innovation strategy.
Suggested follow-up activities
- Group discussions on digital creativity and learning with VR.
- Workshops on VR art, VR storytelling, or digital wellbeing.
- Co-creation projects where young people design their own VR experiences.
- Networking with other Cities of Learning to exchange VR practices.
Claim open badge recognition
After completing this activity, you can earn digital badges that recognise your reflection about exploration on how can engagement with digital tools and VR tools support your learning and how VR can be used in education, art, and community engagement. You can earn digital badges that recognise the value of exploring digital creativity, immersive technology, and innovation in youth work.
Who created this resource?
This activity is inspired by Mladi zmaji Golovec youth center from Ljubljana, Slovenia. They are a part of Public Institute Young Dragons - a local network of youth centres, mobile youth centres and home to local and international youth initiatives such as City Incubator, Youth Radio ETER and so much more.
The Digital Systemic partnership and the Cities of Learning Network use these inspirations and resources to create this activity, aiming to promote examples of good practices, using VR techonology on a weekly basis and discovering how young people in Ljubljana use immersive technology for play, creativity, and learning.
Next steps: We invite you to reflect:
- What inspired or surprised you about this example?
- How could you use VR or similar tools in your own surroundings?
- Which types of events could you imagine combining with immersive technology in your community?
Let this experience be a starting point: imagine, adapt, and create your own ways of using immersive technologies to inspire learning, participation, and innovation in your group, your organisation, and your community.
Get activity badge
VR Explorer Get this badge
This badge is awarded to anyone — youth, youth workers, or managers — who actively engages in explorin how immersive technologies can inspire creativity, play, and learning. This badge recognises your ability to reflect on the role of VR in youth work, education, and community life, and to imagine how similar practices could be developed in your own context.
By earning this badge, you showed curiosity about new digital tools, awareness of their potential for learning and inclusion, and commitment to exploring creative ways technology can bring people together.
You have to finish 1 task to get the badge
Tasks
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: self-approved
Explore the Young Dragons VR Room via their introductory video and reflect on your impressions of their practice. You can use the following questions:
- What inspired or surprised you about the VR Room?
- How could VR be used in your school, group, or organisation?
- What connections do you see between VR and other creative or learning activities?
Task no.2
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Now share or act on your learning. Choose one of the following:
- Create a visual/multimedia piece (e.g., sketch, poster, short video, audio note) showing your “dream VR experience.”
- Write or record a short reflection: how could immersive technology benefit young people in your community?
Share your ideas with us as well as with your peers or colleagues and gather feedback on how they could be developed further.
Organisers
Digital Youth Work Resource Hub
Awero not-for-profit organisation manages this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact support@awero.org.
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