The Mystic Aquarium has collaborated with an emerging AR technology firm on a program that they hope will popularize their brand amidst the global pandemic and in a post-COVID era. The duo has been working together for nearly a year on “Animal Heroes”. It is a monthly subscription box that provides customers the collective knowledge of the aquarium’s programs through apps. The users just need to download them on their smartphones, tablets, or desktops.
Steve Coan, Mystic Aquarium’s CEO, said that the company was seeking ways to augment its reach in conservation and then came across the Manchester-based ARSOME Technology Group. He mentioned that they are trying to engage youngsters on issues regarding conservation. Coan then praised ARSOME and said that they had a great understanding of educational development.
Become heroes and save the planet.
The program promises to provide children between the ages of 6 to 11 an opportunity to become heroes and save the planet. They can discover ways to preserve wildlife and conserve natural resources. The children can engage in videos, activities, and games that allow them to get out and explore the environment. Benjamin Williams, ARSOME Technology Group’s CEO and co-founder perceives the pandemic as a chance to think differently.
AR features
“Animal Heroes” will have digital content that users can customize to their “Animal Heroes” avatar. Additionally, they can indulge in quizzes and fun facts, and also tackle conservational challenges and use the app’s augmented reality features to interact with the physical world. As per the firm, young users can learn how to help beluga whale pods and penguin colonies while being able to feed an AR beluga in their home or click a selfie with an augmented reality penguin.
Unique Program
David Oyanadel, ARSOME’s co-founder and chief innovation officer, said that there are also family activities, and the children are not just sitting before the computer for a long time. The unique program contains videos with aquarium employees describing how they became interested in this line of work that brought them to the aquarium.
Diversify Profit.
Williams said that with the pandemic’s effect on tourism and in-person learning, this program can help museums continue generating revenue and schools make distance learning further productive. He mentioned that the company is aiming to help Mystic Aquarium diversify its profit. According to him, the firm is still fine-tuning the programs with pilot users and hopes to make the product timely available on the market before the holidays. Williams believes that the key to its success will be getting users to go for several monthly subscriptions. He further said that they have not yet determined the product’s price.
Function through pandemic
Richard Blumenthal, a U.S Senator, visited the firm a few days ago to get a glimpse of the product. He believes that it will start a new era for Mystic Aquarium and that the technology could benefit government and educational institutions. Some months ago, the aquarium had announced a lump sum public-private partnership with the state. It was created to eliminate debt and let it function through the pandemic.
