Roar Around in Somerset West is preparing to launch a dedicated VR experience around mid-September, adding a new activity alongside its existing play facilities.
When Roar Around recently teased that a “whole new dimension of fun” was coming to its Somerset West play centre, I wanted to find out what was actually behind the announcement. After community members started guessing that it could involve VR, I put the question to the Roar Around team.
The answer is a dedicated virtual reality area, which Roar Around is currently preparing for a planned mid-September launch.
The new addition is intended to give children another experience at the centre, particularly as they get older, while remaining alongside the physical play that has always been central to Roar Around.
A new option for older children
Roar Around currently caters for children from approximately nine months to 13 years old, with a dedicated toddler area for younger visitors and larger play facilities for older children.
The business says the VR experience came partly from seeing a gap in what was available for children getting older and looking for something different. It sees the new attraction as an additional reason for those children to keep coming back.
The physical play remains an important part of that. As Roar Around put it: “We don’t see VR as replacing that, we see it as complementing it.”
Children will still be able to climb, run and explore the existing facilities, with VR adding another type of activity to the mix.
A dedicated VR area
The new experience will have its own dedicated space within Roar Around, designed around the VR equipment and how it will be used.
The area is currently being completed, with the team testing the different experiences and working through the safety and operational requirements before opening it to the public.
Roar Around says members of its team will be available to assist children with the equipment and supervise the area.
What we know about the launch
Roar Around is aiming for a mid-September launch, although the final opening will depend on the completion of the space, equipment testing and safety procedures.
The exact age requirements for the VR experiences have not yet been announced. The business is also still finalising whether the sessions will form part of the standard Roar Around experience or be booked separately, as well as how the sessions and pricing will work.
These details are expected to be confirmed closer to the launch.
Keeping the whole family in mind
The VR addition also fits into Roar Around’s broader approach to catering for families with children at different ages.
A toddler, a six-year-old and an older child may all want something different from a visit, and the business says it is continually looking at ways to accommodate those differences.
Roar Around also highlighted its floor team as an important part of the experience. Staff are encouraged to engage with children, play with them and help make their visits memorable, rather than simply supervising from the sidelines. The business says all staff have completed first aid courses.
For parents and grandparents, there is also space to sit down, have something to eat or drink, or get some work done while remaining close to the children.
Something new to try
For me, the most interesting part of this addition is that it gives Roar Around a way to grow alongside the children who have been visiting as they get older. A child who first visits for the play equipment as a toddler can eventually become an older child looking for something completely different, and VR gives the centre another way to keep that child interested.
It is a fairly straightforward addition, but one that could change the experience of a visit for families who have already become familiar with Roar Around. I’ll be keeping an eye on the launch and will update this article as more information becomes available.
