BETTENDORF, Iowa — STEAM On Wheels, a Quad Cities non-profit, is using virtual reality to teach kids at its chess club to think quicker and act faster; spicing up how they play a centuries-old game.
"You know, we started this up during the pandemic," Samuel McCullum, Founder of STEAM On Wheels said. "We heard parents say, 'Hey, [there's] nowhere for our kids to play chess.' In the Quad Cities, a lot of things shut down. And we were just thankful to put safety precautions in place to offer a chess club."
Since then, he says the club, which borrows space at the Family Museum in Bettendorf, has been popular because it's able to offer kids the chance to play a world-renowned game while also teaching them skills commonly used in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) fields at a relatively low cost.
"The kids actually create their own chess boards and their chess pieces, McCullum said. "So tying in the engineering concept, concept of designing and creating something of their own, and then taking it home... was a really unique part of tying in chess. But also, another unique part is the virtual reality that we integrate into chess because we like to teach the kids up-and-coming technology."
At his chess club that meets the first Saturday of every month, the students warm up by playing each other, and then McCullum and other volunteers give the kids chess puzzles, teaching them to think critically.
"One of the key things I think, is a lost art in the schools is they don't teach kids how to problem solve," McCullum said.
And once that's over, the club goes a few doors down and uses Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality goggles to play each other, an opportunity that McCullum says is rare for some of his students outside of the club.
"We work with all families, and some families just don't have the opportunity to have Oculus Quest 2 at home. So this is a perfect opportunity to get familiar with the virtual reality."
Not only does it give kids the chance to use an advanced piece of technology, it also teaches them how future careers in STEAM fields can lead to inventions that people may use in fifty years.
"We're not trying to make an engineer out of every kid here. We just want them to be able to troubleshoot. Think critically, and think fast, whether or not you don't think at a very fast pace."
You can learn more about STEAM On Wheels by clicking/tapping here.
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