My purpose here at SeaweedArt has always been to bring the beauty of the ocean home. It is my belief that we want to protect what we come to love. That is why I am always on the lookout for organizations that support my goal to foster appreciation of the magnitude of the ocean’s splendor.
Recently I discovered a wonderful non-profit, Oceans 360º whose mission is to bring high resolution underwater 360/180 virtual reality video from around the globe to classrooms, museums and aquariums in order to raise awareness about the fragility of the world’s oceans. Imagine wearing virtual reality goggles and being surrounded by the water. Video captured with a special camera is processed so that it can viewed as if you were inside a 360 degree sphere. When you put on the virtual reality goggles, you are instantly transported to a transparent underwater bubble where you can move your body around, look in all directions and see things as if you were a scuba diver.
The videos are on different topics like coral reefs, the kelp forests and coming soon, Humpback whales, currently being filmed in Tonga. They are shot in various locations around the globe by scientists and underwater photographers. The videos below are short, one minute samples taken from the Oceans 360º website, but the virtual reality ones that children get to experience in the classroom are 5 minutes long. Take a look and let me know what you think. Click and hold on the video so you can move it around.
To learn more about how you can help Oceans 360º click here.