The Reality Check Café opens January 12 on eXtension’s Morrill3 region in Second Life. This 3D learning environment illustrates the relationship between calorie intake and physical activity, and the importance of making smart choices when dining out. A newly designed restaurant and cuisine will be introduced biweekly, beginning with The Steakhouse.
Visitors to the restaurant make selections from an interactive menu that calculates and advises the total calories for that meal. Next, the visitor is directed to visit the Avatar Fitness Club across the road to receive a personal report of how many minutes of various physical activities will burn off the calories consumed. When faced with the reality that popular restaurant items are loaded with too many calories, the visitor is invited return to the restaurant to make different choices and may continue until satisfied with the result.
The Avatar Fitness Club has been eXtension’s most popular interactive learning environment so far, with over 46,000 visits in four months. The Reality Check Café will attract even more participants to the fitness club and expand its educational value. Visit the Avatar Fitness Club at http://secondlife.com/destination/avatar-fitness-club. For more information, contact LuAnn Phillips, eXtension’s Virtual World Specialist luannphillips@extension.org.