For those who subscribe to The New York Times home delivery, you will be greeted with a little gift this weekend in the form a small cardboard box. This box, when unfolded turns into the Google Cardboard Viewer that allows you to turn your Android or iPhone into a virtual reality headset. Using a virtual reality device, such as the Google Cardboard Viewer, and the The NY Times VR app, readers can now be shown an immersive experience that makes you feel like you are inside their featured stories.
 


As part of the launch, The New York Times debuted a virtual reality film called "The Displaced”, which tells the stories of three children, Oleg, Chuol, and Hana, who have been displaced from their home and family as wartime refugees.  The experiences of these children is sad enough when reading the story, but viewing their story through a virtual reality device provides a much more powerful view into the hardships that these children endure.

Having always read about the Google Cardboard Viewer, but never having the opportunity to use one, I can say that the experience has been amazing for me and my whole family.  In addition to using the NY Times app to get a virtual view of their featured stories, you can also download other VR apps that allow you to view distant cities as if you are there or play games that make you feel like you are inside them.  

For those who do not subscribe to The New York Times home delivery and want to purchase one of these viewers, Google sells them along with many other types on their Get Cardboard page.  On that page you can find a variety of VR viewers that range from $19 USD to $120 USD.