A Royal Visit- Part 2

Talk about immersion. They reconstructed an entire cave by the ocean. The scene in the video is part of an exhibit in the Royal BC Museum on the natural history of British Columbia. I documented some of the exhibits in Part 1, and this post concludes my photographic tour.

I enjoy geeking out on information design, and they have done a great job in the museum pieces. In this case, it is a blend of traditional illustration and interactive digital info-graphics.

In this exhibit, you use the buttons to change the topographic details and the information layers on the globe. Three-dimensional interaction fascinates me endlessly. Novels like Neuromancer, Snowcrash, and other cyberpunk lit just turned on my imagination. I'm surprised that we're not as advanced in 3D tangible interaction as I thought we would be. I mean, we were controlling interfaces with hand gestures and even body heat over a decade ago. So what happened?

I was so excited about this info-graphic that I didn't notice the actual object beside it. So, I accidently cropped the image of the barometer described in the illustrated caption. Mistakes were made, yarr!

This almost looks like a painting in the photograph. In reality, there is a greater sense of depth, and I felt a stronger sense of immersion. There was also sound, waves and bird calls, that enhanced the experience. I felt a bit of that uncanny valley experienced in virtual worlds, feeling transported to another time and place that was at once familiar and alien. It's an odd but fun sensation!

Further along one comes into an exhibit that takes place inside what looks like a steampunk submarine. It is filled with bits of vintage tech, art, and specimens.

Here's where things got cool. I can't really tell you what the story behind this exhibit is because I wasn't paying attention, when all of a sudden I turned around and found myself in this Willy-Wonka world.

Elegant simplicity

It seems like the idea here is to let visitors imagine themselves inside a research vessel during the age of discovery or perhaps inside a Jules-Vernian voyage several leagues under the sea.

Then back out in the wild. In the misty forest, you can hear the sounds of the herd. The call of the birds and other sounds of this lush coastal environment.

Notice the nice touches in this exhibit. The moss on the trees, the dry material on the ground, ferns, and even the birds on the branches. It's very realistic, so I appreciate this attention to detail.

Check out the Northern Flicker on the tree

Mr. Kitty here made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It's very realistic. This part of the exhibit is also connected to the two preceding photographs with the elk herd. I like how seamlessly the coastal and forest areas were demonstrated in this particular exhibit.

More info-graphics!

There's so much more to explore, and I didn't even get to see the exhibitions that were closed. Ah well, c'est la vie, as these taxidermic specimens would likely agree.

"Indeed!"