Arcadia Earth HoloLens

This month, the Arcadia Earth Exhibit at 718 Broadway will introduce the first mixed reality environmental art exhibit with hololens technology. HoloLens is Microsoft's new augmented reality headset that enables users to introduce interactive holograms into their real world experience. Users use the headsets to activate the world around them by looking in the direction of the holograms they see, bringing them to life and unlocking hidden gems, environmental facts, and lifelike animations. The experience brings together the entertainment of a video game, the education of a museum, and the immersion of a VR experience together.

The HoloLens tour at Arcadia Earth was developed in partnership with Enklu and enhances the extended reality exhibit in New York City, which features captivating experiential art that showcases ecosystems such as forests and the open ocean and global issues such as single-use plastic waste and overfishing. Sharing in the Arcadia Earth mission to empower changemakers, Enklu is an impact-driven team of spatial creators that develop holographic experiences for the real world.

Using HoloLens’ Mixed-Reality to Journey Through Planet Earth | After putting on HoloLens, visitors are welcomed by a friendly orb who acts as their guide through the experience. The headset enhances Arcadia Earth's colorful and sculptural multisensory exhibit with a lit path, gaze-collectible gems and proximity-triggered audio and visuals.

Stepping into the first room, visitors learn about the plight of coral reefs as they view a life-size diorama animated by augmented reality. They are invited to collect holographic gems, each of which offers a new tidbit about coral reefs. Visitors learn, for example, that coral reefs are home to over a quarter of the oceans’ marine life, but that 70% of reefs are threatened by bleaching. Participants watch a holographic coral bleach white before their eyes.

Another gem reveals that by simply changing the type of sunscreen you use, you can help protect these hubs of biodiversity. Clicking on a button sends this recommendation to the participant’s phone to review later. Throughout the journey, visitors have moments to step into a space where they can pause and add information to their carbon footprint calculation, with the goal of better understanding the practical steps they can take to help the planet.

Transforming the Future of Physical Exhibits| Introducing augmented reality wearable devices brings exciting possibilities to the world of Arcadia Earth with the potential to endlessly reimagine the experience. Unlike permanent physical installations, the holograms can be updated at any time to add new information, innovations or entirely new experiences for the visitor. The potential for refreshing exhibits becomes endless.

Tickets for general admission start at $27 off-peak for children, students, seniors 65+, veterans, and active military with valid ID. Other tickets are $39 peak and $33 off-peak, with the HoloLens tour being offered as an exclusive experience accessible by a special ticket price of $59. As part of Arcadia Earth’s mission to be carbon neutral, proceeds from tickets sold will go towards planting mangrove trees – chosen for their effectiveness in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Charitable supporters of Arcadia Earth include Oceanic Global and WWF.

Learn more about Arcadia Earth at arcadia.earth