Creating a professional virtual tour for a school involves three main phases: planning, scanning, and delivery.
Step 1: Planning & Scheduling
Work with your virtual tour provider to identify which spaces to scan. For enrollment marketing, prioritize high-impact spaces:
- Admissions/main office — first impression for visiting families
- Signature classrooms — show the learning environment
- Library/media center — demonstrates academic resources
- Gymnasium/athletic facilities — sports program showcase
- Cafeteria/dining hall — daily student life
- Science labs/art studios — specialized program facilities
- Outdoor areas — playgrounds, athletic fields, campus grounds (captured via drone)
Scanning can be scheduled during school hours, after hours, or on weekends — it's non-disruptive.
Step 2: Professional Scanning
A Matterport-certified technician scans each space by placing the camera at regular intervals (every 5–8 feet) and capturing 360° imagery with depth data. Each scan position takes about 30 seconds. A typical K-12 school building takes 1–2 days to complete.
For outdoor campus areas, aerial drone photography captures the grounds, athletic fields, and building exteriors. This is combined with interior Matterport scans to create a comprehensive campus experience.
Step 3: Processing & Delivery
After scanning, the data is uploaded to Matterport Cloud for processing (24–48 hours). The result is an interactive 3D virtual tour that includes:
- 3D walkthrough — navigate through rooms as if walking through the building
- Dollhouse view — see the entire floor plan as a 3D cutaway model
- Floor plan view — top-down schematic view
- Measurement mode — measure any dimension within the space
- Embed code — place the tour on your school website
- Shareable link — send directly to prospective families
DIY vs Professional Service
While platforms like ThingLink ($29/month) let schools create basic 360° tours themselves, professional Matterport scanning produces significantly higher quality results with depth data, dollhouse views, and measurement capabilities. Schools typically lack the equipment ($3,000+ camera) and expertise for professional-grade results.