THE AKUARIO EXPERIENCE

Akuario will take visitors on a walking tour around a replica of Bonaire.  Visitors will enter 360° immersive experiences reflecting that particular location on the island, both above and under the water.  The experiences will consist of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or physical interactive exhibits, and will be presented in various formats (projection domes, submarine exhibits, headset based, etc).  Collectively they will showcase the incredible marine life that Bonaire has on offer and draw a connection between our lives and the oceans that sustain us.

WHY NO LIVING CREATURES?

• Caring for marine aquatic specimens requires considerable energy-intensive life-support systems and creates significant waste.
• Even the most modern methods of capture introduce collateral damage to the reefs from which organisms are sourced, and place organisms under extreme stress with a resulting high rate of die-off.
• The impact on the reef by Akuario is that of a single dive boat and videography team, but with an anticipated impacted audience in excess of a hundred thousand people.

WHY BONAIRE?

• Bonaire has committed to become the world’s first “Blue Destination”, an initiative which will foster economic growth that gives precedence to the sustainable use and conservation of its ocean’s resources. Akuario is a natural extension of this initiative.
• Known as Diver’s Paradise, it is one of the worlds’ premiere scuba diving destinations due to the abundant, resilient, and diverse coral reefs, but many of its visitors never experience the underwater world.
• With Bonaire’s abundant sunshine, Akuario can be sustainably run purely on solar power.