WATCH: How MMF is Utilizing Virtual Reality to Revolutionize Environmental Education

The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) has been harnessing the power of technology to spark a connection between the global public and the marine environment. By creating virtual reality (VR) experiences, MMF Co-Founder, Dr. Andrea Marshall, is transforming the way we educate and inspire, especially among the younger generation.

The result?

An engaging and impactful tool that brings the ocean’s wonders right into our hands, fostering a deep appreciation for marine conservation.

Video by Our Children’s Earth Foundation (OCE), released to celebrate World Ocean Day, 2023.

Leveraging VR to Foster Young Ocean Advocates

Marshall believes that VR experiences, with their immersive nature, could be the key to sparking children’s interest in the ocean and empathy for marine creatures. “It’s really important for me to figure out how to get kids connected to nature. I think VR experiences are the number one way to educate and inspire them,” she says. 

A significant part of MMF’s mandate involves working in developing countries, where access to natural resources and the environment may be limited. Using VR, Marshall wants to democratize access to the ocean, breaking down barriers related to location and socio-economic factors. 

“One of the things that I started to notice when beta testing virtual reality was that the kids had so many more expressions and an overall connection to the subject matter we were featuring than a normal talk or presentation,” Marshall reveals.

The immersive quality of VR makes the children feel like they are part of the ocean environment, helping to foster a more profound connection. 

Marshall describes the experiences of children using the VR program: “You can see them swimming underwater. You can see them trying to catch the fish or touch the coral or the seagrass. And it shows me that they feel connected to what’s happening.”

Dr. Marshall’s efforts to democratize the ocean aren’t limited to classrooms. With a VR headset, she has been able to connect children from all corners of the world to the underwater realm. “VR experiences can be used the world over. It’s a great medium to connect kids all over the world, taking them to places they may never otherwise get the chance to visit,” she adds.

Virtual Reality’s Global Reach and Scalability

She sees potential for VR technology to be applied globally, as a medium to connect children around the world with places they may never have the opportunity to visit. But perhaps even more exciting is the potential for VR to change the way we interact with marine life, possibly eliminating the need for large marine animal captivity. 

“When we’re testing this type of virtual reality experience, it’s testing off the charts. Maybe we don’t necessarily need to have these large marine animals in captivity anymore,” suggests Marshall. 

A prime example of this vision in action is the partnership between MMF and Immotion (opens in a new tab), a leading provider of location-based VR edutainment. Together, they have crafted an immersive VR experience titled “Flight of the Mantas” that utilizes motion seats, haptic feedback, and 360-degree sound (see image below) and will be distributed to aquariums across the globe, making this unique conservation effort widely accessible and promoting a better understanding of the importance of manta ray conservation.

One of Immotion’s aquaria installations

Virtual Reality opens up an exciting avenue for the future of ocean conservation education. With these programs, millions of people around the world will ultimately gain access to remote marine environments where MMF does research, experience elusive or endangered animals, and gain greater insights into marine research without ever having to get their faces wet.

MMF’s Janneman Conradie filming on the VR camera system for “Flight of the Mantas”

A special thanks to Our Children’s Earth Foundation (opens in a new tab) for the video and their generous support of this initiative and to Habitat XR (opens in a new tab) for partnering with us to produce this incredible content.