David Attenborough’s ‘First Life’ is a Virtual Reality Documentary for Gear VR

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First Life is a VR documentary hosted by the widely influential Sir David Attenborough, best known for his 9 part Life series beginning back in 1979, the latest of which came out in 2008. The VR experience is showing now on Gear VR headsets at the National History Museum in London.

Alchemy VR
Sir David Attenborough with Gear VR in hand at The British National History Museum

The documentary, which follows in the Life series tradition, takes event-goers back to when it all started, from the beginning of life on planet Earth, up through the evolutionary stages of the world’s first predators.

Created by AlchemyVR, a VR-centric division of Atlantic Productions, the VR experience draws on the National History Museum’s (NHM) vast stores of knowledge, and with the help of the Samsung Gear VR headset, reanimates creatures unseen for the last 500 million years.

The NHM has today opened a special event where museum-goers can put on the Gear VR headset and explore the treacherous seas of the Cambrian period, having close encounters with Anomalocaris and the spiny worm-like Hallucigenia—all with the sophic voice of Sir Attenborough himself guiding the way.

First Life Ugly Bugger
Cambrian period bugger, Anomalocaris

You can reserve your time slot by visiting the National History Museum’s website. Tickets cost £6.50 for non-member adults, and are still available for some dates in June and July, but they’re going fast. The age limit for this event is 13.

There’s no word yet as to when AlchemyVR will release the experience for general consumption, but we’re definitely crossing our fingers.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.