We’re all familiar with dinosaurs – Jurassic Park made sure of that – but what about two-metre millipedes, shrimp-like creatures the size of a baseball bat and predatory dragonflies? Well, at Life Chronicles you can journey back to the beginning and see Earth and all its wondrous and weird lifeforms evolve right before your eyes.
The mesmerising new virtual reality expedition is now open at Westfield Stratford and is a result of a collaboration between Excurio and the Natural History Museum in France. So, you can expect it to be both visually breathtaking, cutting-edge and educational – the perfect recipe for an unforgettable experience.
What is the Life Chronicles experience?
Life Chronicles is a virtual reality expedition, inviting you to experience the evolving paleo-landscapes during different periods of Earth’s history. Pull on a VR headset and the world around you will transform into one from over 3.5 billion years ago: The Archean period. This was when the first vestiges of life arose on a planet with no oxygen, no ozone layer, a closer, looming moon and powerful crashing tides. It wasn’t a particularly welcoming environment but thankfully (for our sake) the microbial life persevered and evolved into diverse animal species, then dinosaurs, and then, well, that’s where we humans come in.
Following your virtual guides – researcher Charlie and her aptly-named robot Darwin – you’ll explore the tangled wild of forests that are home to giant insects, plunge into the cerulean depths of the ocean where you’ll encounter marine predators larger than blue whales and, if you’re feeling brave enough, get up close to a gigantic, ground-shaking Tyrannosaurus rex.
Every moment and detail in Life Chronicles has been carefully crafted to give you an accurate and authentic experience. The museum’s team of palaeontologists, palaeobotanists, evolution specialists and bioacousticians have contributed their expertise to ensure your 45-minute adventure is as close to reality as possible. Plus, if you want to bring along the whole gang – whether that’s a school trip or work team – there’s the option for full venue hire. However you visit, you’re sure to enjoy a mind-bending experience that will leave you feeling like you’ve just stumbled out of a dream!
