With our partners at the University of Miami, we created a virtual reality (VR) experience that takes users on a virtual field trip to learn about coral reef types and their zonation patterns. This immersive educational experience is the first of its kind for the foundation, adding an innovative learning technology to our Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum. This allows students anywhere to learn about coral reefs through a fun and immersive educational experience.

Using bathymetric maps and data collected on the foundation’s Global Reef Expedition, we worked with Xennial Digital to build an underwater world based on real coral reefs. Students explore the reefs of French Polynesia and learn about the main types of coral reefs and the different zones that exist within them through a VR experience on an Oculus Quest device.

This VR field trip was designed for use in middle and high school science classes, and undergraduate students taking the Earth System History class at the University of Miami. This VR field trip will provide a viable alternative that works well in both in-person and remote learning environments.