Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In 2021, librarians Judie Matthews and Bobby Reed began to develop a first-of-its-kind virtual reality model of 700 N. Bath Avenue, an Oklahoma City block lost to Urban Renewal. Using hundreds of primary sources, the team created a lifelike and enveloping version of an area of town that hadn’t existed for 40 years. Using maps, photos, newspaper reports and advertisements, and oral histories, Matthews and Reed have created a new tool for educators and historians: virtual reality models that can place a student in the middle of history. This session showcases the VR model and walks attendees through the steps to create the model, the hurdles in production, potential next steps, and future endeavors.
Judie Matthews is the special collections librarian with the Metropolitan Library System. This session is part of “Oklahoma in Context,” the 2025 Oklahoma History Symposium.
In 2021, librarians Judie Matthews and Bobby Reed began to develop a first-of-its-kind virtual reality model of 700 N. Bath Avenue, an Oklahoma City block lost to Urban Renewal. Using hundreds of primary sources, the team created a lifelike and enveloping version of an area of town that hadn’t existed for 40 years. Using maps, photos, newspaper reports and advertisements, and oral histories, Matthews and Reed have created a new tool for educators and historians: virtual reality models that can place a student in the middle of history. This session showcases the VR model and walks attendees through the steps to create the model, the hurdles in production, potential next steps, and future endeavors.
Judie Matthews is the special collections librarian with the Metropolitan Library System. This session is part of “Oklahoma in Context,” the 2025 Oklahoma History Symposium.
