To date over 20,000 people have had a Virtual Reality Ocean learning experience with our charity. From school children, communities and even members of parliament!
In order to keep up with advancing educational technologies, our charity decided to make a virtual reality experience to enable us to bring the ocean to life in any classroom, event and park across the country.
There is a growing field of research that supports the use of digital technology for learning about the Ocean. Virtual reality in particular can help provide an alternative method to paper-based learning, allowing for differentiation between learners and establishing a physical connection to sometimes difficult or unusual concepts. That’s why as part of our National Schools’ Outreach Programme, we wanted to encapsulate the mystery and wonder of the Ocean and to encourage and inspire people to further their knowledge.
Thanks to generous funding we were able to purchase one hundred VR headsets and decided to launch our virtual reality series with a trip to the bottom of the ocean – the abyss.
The deep sea is the remotest, least explored ecosystem on the planet, so what better way to engage viewers than with this mysterious and exciting habitat. Working with Hammerhead VR, we wrote and developed a script enabling travel in a submarine down to about 850 metres below the surface of the Ocean.
During this journey, various deep-sea dwelling animals are visible including the Atolla (Burglar Alarm) jellyfish, an angler fish, and finally the infamous battle between the giant squid and a sperm whale.
How will this help the Ocean?
Connecting with parts of the Ocean that are not accessible is a vital way to showcase the importance of the sea. As our conservation pathway suggests, this first step leads to acting towards a healthier Ocean.
How you can help?
We want to take as many people as possible on a virtual trip to the Ocean. To do so we need to raise more vital funds to take this project further.
To support this ground breaking project, donate to our charity today.