I heard about the BBC Earth Experience in London and naturally knew it would be exceptional. David Attenborough narrating shorts films about the seven continents in an immersive way sounded absolutely fantastic.
Arriving at Earls Court station we strolled through the concrete buildings that surround and lead you to the venue. The tall apartment blocks, housing and building site that guide you into the building which is surrounded in wild flowers and wooden benches is beautiful.
The vibrancy of the staff when you get there is phenomenal. They all know what lay in store for you and are excited to share it. Soon you will be immersed and they are genuinely happy that you are there and that you want to see the installation. You can hear Attenborough’s calm voice in the background and flashing bits of light as people enter and exit the exhibit hall. It is enormously exciting.
It is hard to explain or describe how you feel when you first walk in. Huge cinema screens are rolling, different shapes and projecting the film and the natural World in all its glory beams in front of you. It is quite emotional.
It is more than incredible to be able to access footage in this way, scenes that we will never see in our life time, access to the tiniest of creatures and the most hard to find habitats. The sounds of flamboyant cuttlefish pulsating or spiders weaving a web is glorious. It feels magic to be a part of it.
We flew over mountains, sat in the middle of thunder storms and tornados and were followed by schools of fish and roaming sharks.
You don’t have to be an environmentalist, conservationist, marine biologist or zoologist to see this exhibition. You just need to be human, you just need to be open to understanding that we are all connected in ways we can never imagine and that we need a symbiotic relationship to survive.
As you move around the experience to meet creepy crawlies, tackle weather bands, spot sea creatures and meet polar bears you are gently guided out and as you exit you are met with a giant globe, projected quite beautifully above you. David Attenborough leaves you with his final words of advice as you depart, his plea to help preserve and protect our planet.
The totally over whelming planet that spins around you surrounded by stars and planets and moons is a stark reminder of how lucky we are. It is a reminder of what we are all a part of and a scary reminder of what we could loose.
You enter the building eager to be inspired and you exit consumed with a passion to engage more in nature. You walk back into the city, the grey concrete and towering buildings and you understand how small and special natural environments are and how much of it has been taken over by humans. Our extensive use of resources and land has drained the planet and ultimately us.
Thank you BBC Earth for giving us insight. Thank you for exploring and for showing us things we might not ever be lucky enough to see for ourselves.
