Water Awareness in the Classroom
Dive Underwater with Virtual Reality
Together with HAS Green Academy, we have developed “Onderstroom POV ”: a 360° virtual reality experience that brings high school students face-to-face with the hidden underwater world of the Netherlands. Students see with their own eyes the difference between a clear, healthy body of water and murky, polluted water. What happens to plants and animals when water quality changes?
Virtual Reality in the Classroom
Water is everywhere in the Netherlands, but we almost never see what happens beneath the surface. In East Brabant, the water system is under significant pressure. The research project “Water Awareness in the Classroom: Learning with and from Water in East Brabant” therefore aims to increase water awareness among high school students.
Wearing VR headsets, students step into a Dutch pond. They look around among water plants, fish, and small aquatic animals, on a scale they would never see in real life. The experience runs through the browser on the VR headset, without a separate app, and the teacher guides the class with his or her voice.
Image generated by Gemini based on a concept prompt, 2026
Here's how it works
"Undercurrent POV" is a mix of real 360° underwater footage and animated 3D models of plants and animals, such as the pike, the perch, and the American crayfish. Two buttons float before you: low nutrients and high nutrients. Press a button and watch how the environment around you changes.
With low nutrients, you’ll see clear water full of submerged aquatic plants, with a pike on the hunt. With high nutrients, the water turns green and murky, the plants disappear, and the crayfish take over. Using the info buttons, students can discover the role each species plays in the ecosystem.
Watch "Onderstroom" POV
Curious to see what it looks like through VR goggles? In this video, you'll dive into the lake with us. Tip: Playing with VR glasses is, of course, the coolest!
Video of the Onderstroom POV prototype, 2026
Designing with the Target Audience in Mind
To create an experience that truly resonates with young people, we designed it together with the target audience. HAS first facilitated fieldwork sessions on water quality. We then held co-creation sessions at De Nieuwste School Tilburg and KSG Etten-Leur. A group of teachers also contributed their ideas during the NIBI conference.
The students were clear: they want to learn more outside the classroom, experience things for themselves, and embrace new technologies like VR. From three concept directions, we chose “Onderstroom POV” together with HAS, which is aimed at upper-grade students.
From Experience to Discussion
The VR experience is just the beginning. Afterward, the class engages in a discussion. A teacher’s guide facilitates this, with guiding questions: What did you see? Why did the water look that way? And what did you think of it? A deep dive explains what water quality is and why nutrients play such a major role.
In this way, the experience ties in with the existing curriculum and fieldwork. Because after that, it’s time to actually go outside and take a look at a Dutch pond for yourself.
Ready for the next step
The prototype is ready, and plans for further development are already in place. Think of a “VR Water Box” with 30 VR headsets that schools can rent for a week, complete with a teacher’s guide. Think of more underwater scenarios in different types of water, each with its own interactions. And new layers that show how climate, chemicals, and vegetation affect the water.
We also want to create a separate version for vocational secondary education (VMBO) as a visual exploration tool. This way, Onderstroom POV will soon be able to dive into every upper-level classroom in the Netherlands.
Made possible by
This project was made possible by a Knowledge-in-Action grant from the Dutch Climate Research Initiative (KIN). HAS Green Academy serves as the lead organization and scientific partner through its Climate-Resilient Landscapes research group.
Would you like to know more?
Are you a teacher and would you like to use Onderstroom POV in your lessons? Would you like to help us figure out the next step? Or would you like to create your own VR or AR experience centered on water, nature, or climate? Send us a message!