the one-hundred-and-twentieth episode of ventriloquy introduces my main contribution to reef education in Second Life, to date.
the Raymaker Marine Environments Centre at Hatteras Island features informational exhibits, a simple model depicting how reef-health is affected by climate change, and a reef gallery.
i could not have embarked upon such a project by myself, and would like to take this opportunity to thank Meroth Junge, Nick Swamphen and Apolon Obscure in particular. Meroth built and scripted the reef-health model, Nick was responsible for the design and construction of the reef gallery, and Apolon designed, built and scripted the vessel which shuttles visitors between the two main parts of the Centre (regular visitors to this blog will, of course, know that my collaborations with Nick go back a long way).
i elaborate more on my thoughts and feelings on such collaborations in this 1.7 MB download.
when you do visit the Marine Environments Centre, you'll find that it's adjacent to St Michel - the Jules Verne Museum. even if you've already paid a visit to the latter, it might be worth having another look, as Apolon has just completed a hot-air balloon ride (which i've used to replace one of the teleports).
life is not so much in the destination, but in the journey :-)
[update 1: i have renamed the Centre as the Raymaker Field Studies Centre at Hatteras Island
update 2: as of 29 April 2008, the Raymaker Field Studies Centre at Hatteras Island is listed at b.places :-)
update 3: the Centre is closed with effect from 13 August 2008]
