Year: 2015

January 8th, 2016: Update: as per the comment below from Yan, SLurls for the observatory’s facilities have changed, and the article hand images have been updated to reflect this.

In May 2015, I wrote about the The Abyss Observatory, a collaborative project formulated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and involving the support of a number of organisations including the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Open University in the UK.

At the time I wrote that piece, it appeared that a good part of the Observatory’s operations in Second Life would be going off-line in June. fortunately, rather than this being the case, the team behind the Observatory have been busy relocating the exhibits and also taking the opportunity to renew many of them, and they’re now once more moving forward in their work of fostering a greater understanding of the world around us.

“Since the closing of Second Earth 3 in June 2015, we have been working on five new areas,” Abyss co-founder Yan Lauria informed me during a recent visit to the Observatory’s new hub at Farwell. “We now have installations at Farwell, Jabara Land Atlantis, STEM Island and Lily, although some parts are still under construction.”

The re-working of the Abyss facilities has also led to increased collaboration with other science and eduction groups and organisations in Second Life, and also to expand a presence in OpenSim as well.Supporting the venture from the physical world are the National Institute of Education, Singapore and The Science Circle.

Yan, who is also a lecturer at The Science Circle in Second Life, as well as working at JAMSTEC, went on,”We continue to develop Earth, Ocean and Life science exhibits and cross-disciplinary collaboration in SL and JOGrid with TUIS, JAMSTEC, NIE, UIW, The Science Circle and other organisations,”

Most of the exhibits from the earlier iterations of the Abyss Observatory have now been placed in new locations across the five regions, and a new cross-navigation teleport system has been implemented to ease movement between the different locations and exhibits. These are largely centred on the  Observatory’s land at Farwell, which is perhaps the best place to start any planned tour or visit.

It is at Farwell that those new to The Abyss Observatory can gain a general introduction to it and the purposes behind it, visit several of the main exhibition locations, including the Sunken City Excavation by Kichimaru Haystack, the Cetological Museum by Dugong Janu, Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso and the NOAA Okeanos Explorer (and you can read about the latter’s studies in the physical world as well). And that’s just the start of things.

The travel system on Farwell’s shore will take you down to one of two further undersea exhibit areas, the Dophin Promenade, where you can see the unique Tektite Habitat, which in 1969 / 70 was the centre of research into reef ecosystems and human physiology studies related to both saturation diving and possible long-duration space missions. Simply wait for the travel sphere to arrive when you stand at the entrance to the system, then step inside and let it carry you down to the promenade, where you can walk through the glass tunnel to the travel system at the far end.

Just offshore from the island on the east side of Farwell is a further underwater exhibit, reached via elevator. Here you can wander glass observation tunnels on two levels, the lower of which take you into the world of deep diving exploration, and the likes of craft such as the bathyscaphe Triseste, which in 1960, descended the Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench, to reach a record maximum depth of some 10,911 metres (35,797 ft).

For those who prefer, the navigation system – which comprises a series of clickable image boards which supply SLurls to their destinations in chat  – will take you up into the sky to the aforementioned Cetological Museum, the Underwater World and Submarine Design Project, and the visually stunning and informative Only One Earth interactive exhibit – which in itself is worth a visit, quite apart from the rest of the Observatory’s offerings.  The navigation boards also provide access to the Abyss exhibits at Shamash, Jabara Land Atlantis, STEM Island and Lily, all of which are worth the time to visit and explore.

Continue reading “Return to the Abyss: science in Second Life” →

Junk September 2015 (Flickr)

I’ve written a few times about some of the advantages shopping in-world can have, quite aside from the benefits of easy browsing, sharing time with friends, etc., simply because many content creators with land of their own put as much care and effort into providing a place people will want to visit as much for itself as for the shopping experience.

Tab Tatham is one such creator. Her region, called simply Junk, the name of her store, is wonderfully atmospheric in design and execution. So much so that not only does it provide an eye-catching place to visit as well as to spend time shopping, for me it is also mindful of another region design I always enjoyed and admired: Jordan Giant’s The Colder Water, which makes it doubly attractive.

Junk September 2015 (Flickr)

Like The Colder Water, Junk offers a crescent island with a landing area atop a broad, rocky plateau at one end, which sweeps down and around to rocky “tail”. It is also cast within a twilight world which suits it admirably, watched over by the slender finger of a tall lighthouse sitting just off the coast of the main island, something which again carries an echo of The Colder Water, although this lighthouse is very much still functional.

Which is not to say the one is in any way modelled on the other, there is also much which stands the two designs apart and make them entirely unique and individually attractive. My comparison is purely a means of showing how my memories of one had me feeling a comforting warmth of familiarity on my arrival at the other.

Junk September 2015 (Flickr)

From the arrival area, which also forms the store’s information area, the visitor can wander the length of the island, Tab’s store being laid out as a series of sheds (Tab’s own designs) and awning-draped flat-bed trucks either side of the island’s sandy ribbon. Between these winds a board walk of loose-laid planks, enticing the visitor onwards in exploration.

At the far end of the island’s curve sits a live events area, built out over the water, with seating areas both on and near it, and the stage provisioned by another awning-hung truck. Braziers made from old oil drums, glowing with the heat of the fires burning inside them offer warmth should the sea breeze turn cold,  while the seating – whether made by Tab or by others – is wonderfully home-spun in styling, adding enormously to the overall ambience of the place.

Junk September 2015 (Flickr)

Just off the main island, and sitting within its curve, are two little islands. On the first, barely more than a rocky outcrop, sits what appears to be the last remnants of an old factory. Further out, and reached via a set of stone flagstones which allow visitors to keep their feet dry, is a little warehouse area which offers cosy places to sit as well.

For those who like spending time meandering around market stalls or poking through little stores of bric-a-brac and suchlike, then a wander through Junk is liable to delight; it evokes such feelings perfectly, quite aside from any real or imagined sense of familiarity the region design may evoke. There is also a whimsical quirkiness present as well, which adds to a visit enormously, be it through spotting Nessie sitting in the water or smiling at the lantern carrying crane lighting the board walk, or any one of a dozen or more little touches which bring a smile to the lips.

Junk September 2015 (Flickr)

Whether you are shopping for something that’s a little unusual and pleasing to the eye design-wise, or just out to see what you can find when it comes to furnishings and decor, be sure to take a look at Junk – you’re liable to find it is anything but.

SLurl and Other Details

• Junk (Rated: Moderate)
• Tab Tatham’s blog