David Attenborough’s Virtual Reality Experiences

By Ben Stephens.

Ever feel like having your mind completely blown, while at the same time be made to feel relatively small in the context of the history of the Earth? When you do have that itching desire, I urge you to check out the mad experience that is currently happening at the Australian Museum. Samsung Gear and Alchemy VR have teamed up with the man himself, Sir David Attenborough, to create David Attenborough’s Virtual Reality Experiences that will bend your mind in a new way… like in a way where you might feel a little nauseous after the show, but that will pass.

For the first time outside of the United Kingdom, these VR experiences are showing off the technology that takes you deep inside Attenborough’s world. The virtual realities are taking place in a theatre within the Australian Museum, the surrounds short lived as you dip into the depths of the ocean floor 500 million years ago in the first of the two features, First Life. Shot mostly using CGI, this 11-minute piece creates a fluid movement while seeing creatures that no longer roam the earth.

The second show stopper, Great Barrier Reef, takes you to Tropical North Queensland to show you the best of what the reef has to offer. This feature was shot using 360 cameras, giving you a very real life experience of the corals, sea life and the odd reef shark during your 22-minute dive under the tropical sea.

With the gentle sound of Sir David’s voice narrating both experiences, you feel that you are with a very knowledgeable friend on an exploration to discover the deep sea and what lurks down there. Where in reality you are actually in a theatre with 50 strangers all wearing a headset and headphones… If you get a moment mid screening, remove the headset and take a peek at reality, it’s quite a sight to see.

David Attenborough’s VR Experiences are on at the Australian Museum until July 18.