Press conference in Gdańsk on mobile chests and immersive history education

On Monday, 19 February 2024, on Polish Science Day at 12:00 p.m. a press conference was held at the Gdańsk branch of the Institute of National Remembrance, at which IPN presented sets of mobile boxes containing devices for conducting immersive history lessons based on materials developed by the IPN itself. The meeting with the media was attended by Magdalena Hajduk – director of the IPN’s New Technology Division, and Marek Szymaniak, P.hD – director of the Gdańsk branch of the IPN. Each of the 10 crates includes a gaming computer, screen, virtual reality (VR) goggles Meta Oculus Quest II and accessories necessary for their operation. The aforementioned equipment enables and facilitates immersive learning projects uploaded to it, which have been developed by the IPN’s New Technology Division and include:

1. “Cyphers Game” – the first gaming project by IPN. The action of the game refers to the Polish-Soviet war, players have a chance to take a close look at the actions of, among others, Jan Kowalewski. This project is available for PC and VR.
2. “Aviators – war in the skies” – the latest gaming project of the IPN. The game’s plot takes a closer look at the fate of Polish aviators during World War II. Players have the opportunity to learn about the biographies of Jan Zumbach, Jadwiga Piłsudska, Anna Leska and others. This project is available for PC and VR.
3. “WARSAW RISING – city of heroes” – a computer game, during which player takes on the role of the commander of a unit fighting in the Warsaw Uprising.
4. “Testimony of help” – an immersive film etude prepared using virtual reality technology depicting the fate of the blessed Ulma family from Markowa, brutally murdered by the Germans on 24 March 1944 for hiding Jews.
5. “Szybowcowa ’87” – an immersive experience prepared using virtual reality technology, through which the user is transported to the 1980s, where, in a secret Fighting Solidarity printing house located in one of Wrocław’s flats, he has the chance to learn about underground activities.

The nationwide tour of mobile crates with IPN immersive history education kits, which will soon be launched, is another initiative, following the “Cyphers Game” mobile showroom and the mobile project “Przystanek Historia Przyszłości”, to ensure that IPN projects based on new technologies are widely available in educational establishments.