Lake Ontario Shipwrecks Set for Immersive XR Project
Lake Ontario once served as a major gateway between the Atlantic Ocean and the wider Great Lakes system. Heavy traffic along the route contributed to numerous shipwrecks, many of which date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The New York Department of State plans to appoint the non-profit Coastal States Stewardship Foundation for the project. The organisation will develop an immersive extended reality experience and a modular public exhibit highlighting at least two notable wrecks within the federally designated Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary.
One of the potential subjects is the schooner St. Peter, which sank in 1898 near Pulteneyville in Wayne County.
State officials said the project is designed to allow people of different ages and abilities to experience the sanctuary environment and explore its underwater heritage through accessible digital formats.
Extended reality is a broad term that encompasses immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. These systems create interactive digital environments that enable users to experience locations and objects in simulated or enhanced settings.
The project will draw on a large collection of high-resolution imagery and three-dimensional video gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Additional material will be provided by recreational divers and other sources. Available content will include recorded accounts from divers and oral histories preserved by families connected to the wrecks.
The Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary covers approximately 1,700 square miles of the lake’s eastern waters. The protected area extends from the boundary between Monroe and Wayne counties to Cape Vincent in the Thousand Islands. Federal designation was granted in 2024 following a ten-year effort involving government agencies and community partners.
Marine sanctuaries are comparable to national parks, but they protect underwater resources. State officials said the extended reality project aims to increase public interest in New York’s maritime history by presenting historical material connected to the wreck sites.
The initiative has a total budget of $420,000. Of this amount, $50,000 will be provided through the state Environmental Protection Fund, with the remaining funding supplied by federal sources.
A notice published in the state contract registry states that the immersive content and modular exhibit will be developed for public education and outreach. The materials are intended for use in museums, schools, libraries, visitor centres, and at public events across the region and the state.
Accessibility is a central element of the project design. Officials said the experience will be developed to accommodate people with a range of abilities and sensory sensitivities. Some components will also be produced in formats that can be loaned to institutions for wider community use.
