Merge Madness
Meet the Merge Cube, the world's first, holographic object you can hold in the palm of your hand. It’s a foam cube with different designs on each side. When held in front of your device’s camera while using a variety of Merge Cube apps, the cube is transformed into digital 3D objects and scenes. You can move and rotate the cube in your hand to see things from different angles.
Apps Available for Merge
(F = Free, $ = Paid)
- TH!NGS for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- Dig! for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- Tiltball for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- Snake Attack for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- AnatomyAR+ for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Defused! for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- Galactic Explorer / Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- myARquarium for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- Party Games for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- Mr. Body for Merge Cube (F) (iOS | Android)
- CubePaintAR (F & $) (iOS | Android)
- DinoDigger for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- 57° North for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- CyberCube for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- AR Kitten for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Invasion for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Cube Conquest for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Operation Zombie Annihilation for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- BlockAR for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Hangry Herb for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Ask Kranky for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Nexus Box for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- Tricky Temple ($) (iOS | Android)
- Q Moment AR ($) (iOS | Android)
- Mystical Moon for Merge Cube ($) (iOS | Android)
- HoloGLOBE (F) (iOS | Android)
- Elemental Order ($) (iOS | Android)
- Wobble Wobble ($) (iOS | Android)
- Rubik’s Cube Augmented! ($) (iOS | Android)
Merge Cube in the Classroom
Click the title to hear Gabe Haydu explain how he uses the Merge Cube in his math class.
- Galactic Explorer is a great introduction to our solar system! Students can hold and rotate the solar system in their hands while exploring the planets (including Pluto!) and examining and questioning things like rotation, revolution, planet atmospheres, moons, rings and more. Have students share their discoveries and questions using the built in Record feature then share their videos with the rest of the class, experts in the field, and the world!
- Mr. Body would be a great addition to any health or physical education class! This app is a gentle and simply way to help students learn basic facts about the brain, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, kidneys, pancreas, small and large intestines, and the bladder. This app also has the Record feature built in and would be a perfect tool for capturing learning and questions that can be shared through video.
- Moment AR by Color Black Moment is a social skills training tool meant for psychologists, therapists, counselors, and other specialists to help support students with identifying feelings, emotions, and social interaction. The app based tool is supported by research. They also have some great ideas for activities with the app and the Merge Cube but I think this tool might also be useful in a language learning class! Students can describe the emotions, colors, characters, actions, and social scenarios while speaking in their practicing language.
- AnatomyAR+ is another great tool for a health or physical education class with much more detailed graphics, labels, and descriptions. It even includes a beating heart! Students can hold in their hand a real-looking and accurate heart, brain, limbic system, basal nuclei, and lungs.
- TH!NGS was one of the first apps produce by Merge and offers a collection of different activities. One of them is called Holo Body which provides you with a 3D heart and skull with labeled parts. There is also a simple Slot Machine. Could students calculate the probabilities of triple 7s? Let students explore creative writing by pairing them with the Pokeminion, Octopet, and Pirate Island activities. Each activity in TH!NGS also includes the Record feature! Students can write a story or create a play with their peers and act it out in a recording.
- 57° North is one of my most favorite Merge Cube apps! It’s an amazing 3D choose-your-own-adventure that includes hundreds of decisions and multiple endings. It was created by Mighty Coconut. What kind of book study might you be able to do with students using a 3D AR story?
- There are also many Merge Cube puzzle games that would be fun for students to explore during morning routine, recess, and when they finish early with class work. Check out apps like Rubik’s Cube, Tiltball, Party Games, and Snake Attack. One game, Dig, has been described as being able to play Minecraft in the palm of your hand.
DIY Merge CubeClick the title to see Gabe Haydu create a giant DIY Merge Cube for your classroom.
Don't have the Merge Cube yet and want to view some of the experiences? Merge VR created a printable sheet to test the app experiences (click the arrow on the right to download).
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