Step into the future of the natural world with the Museum’s newest exhibit. Visions of Nature is an immersive experience that allows visitors to experience how the world looks in 2125 to see how human actions have shaped our planet.
With the natural world in trouble, the imagined scenarios shown in this experience explore how nature’s resilience has enabled species to adapt to the threats they face in the 21st century, aided by a helping hand from humanity. The experience presents the wonders of the natural world, from the Scottish Highlands to the Great Green Wall in Africa’s Sahel region, inspiring visitors to become advocates for the planet.
The experience is powered by Microsoft’s mixed reality headsets and imagined and co-produced by SAOLA Studio, a creative studio specialising in building augmented reality experiences for cultural institutions, with the latest science and research from Museum scientists informing the narrative.
The species featured, which are experienced as interactive holographic animations in the Microsoft headset, come to life in the Museum’s Darwin Centre. The tour features a selection of the Museum’s 80 million physical specimens, including a cuttlefish, Darwin’s frog and coconut crab.
A built-in scientific copilot called Hope is on hand to describe each story along the way. On one stop, Hope prompts visitors to hold out a hand to greet a Darwin’s frog, which leaps off to explore its home, an urban park in the city of Concepción, Chile. The species was close to extinction due to habitat loss in the 21st century, but the subsequent introduction of captive breeding programs meant species such as this frog could thrive in urban havens.
Another scene shows how the loss of ice sheets in the Arctic has led to increased crossbreeding between narwhal and beluga whales. In 2125, there are thriving populations of ‘narlugas’, whose movements scientists can track with AI technology to help safeguard the new families. Visitors can watch as a family bonds by playing with floating kelp.
Dr Alex Burch, Director of Public Programmes at the Natural History Museum, says: “Visions of Nature is an incredibly exciting, immersive experience – and the first offering of its kind for the Museum. Whilst visually beautiful, it also delivers a powerful message that the actions we take now can have a positive impact on the future.
“It presses fast-forward so visitors can see how nature has responded, for better and for worse, to the aftermath of centuries of human industrial activity as well as to the interventions we have introduced to remedy our unsustainable activity.
“We hope that visitors to Visions of Nature leave with a greater confidence to discuss the type of future they’d like to build and are driven to be part of the response to the planetary emergency.”
Jeremy Frey, Co-founder and Director at SAOLA Studio, comments, “We are particularly proud to be working with the Natural History Museum on this new experience.
“Today, thanks to Microsoft HoloLens 2, we can propel visitors into the future, in all its mysterious, marvellous and disquieting aspects. Our creative team has brought life to realistic creatures that are just as precious and fascinating today as we are certain they will be tomorrow.
“This is not just a time travel; it is an immersive experience in which the visitor is challenged to become a part of a better world where balanced human-animal cohabitation is possible. We have a long way to go. Though we are not yet prepared to meet the challenge, we hope Visions of Nature helps us to take the right turn starting today.”
