Welcome to the Galiverso somerxido (submerged Galiverse), a unique journey to discover the Galician heritage hidden within our maritime domain. From the Gaiás Centre Museum, mounted on a bathyscaphe and with the help of virtual reality lenses, we will explore the seabeds of the Galician coast, learning about the fauna and flora that inhabit in them as well as about the singular historical episodes in which the sea was the protagonist. A journey that also seeks to educate about the historical, economic, and environmental importance of our seas and the need to protect them.
Galiverso somerxido is open to visit in floor 0 of the Gaiás Centre Museum, Tuesdays to Fridays from 4pm to 8pm and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (except Mondays) from 11am to 2:30pm and from 4pm to 8am. The virtual bathyscaphe begins its dive every 30 minutes, and the last voyage begins half an hour before the exhibition’s closure (2pm in the morning and 7:30pm in the evening). The visit is free of charge if you book the visit in advance via the Ataquilla website or directly at the Gaiás Centre Museum.
NOTICE: The Galiverso somerxido experience will be closed on 15 and 16 September 2023.
The room is equipped with 6 chairs, each with its own virtual reality set, and the exploration of Galiverso somerxido is done simultaneously. A narration – in Galician, Spanish or English – conducts the voyage, offering instructions about the functioning of the bathyscaphe and explanations about the fauna, flora, objects and areas that can be seen within the seabed.
The challenges of the Galiverso somerxido
The Galiverso somerxido production brought up important challenges for the underwater photograph shooting such as reduced visibility, deep sea dives (up to 38 meters), working time limitations (10 minutes per immersion), the design of a 360º camera with specific housings for stereo recording and also the creation in 3D of the virtual bathyscaphe in which the fun happens.
Overcoming these challenges implied the participation of experts from different fields: scuba diving, art history, communication and circulation of information, biology, digital art, heritage, etc., resulting in a never done before virtual reality experience in Spain. A total of 18 dives were carried out in 12 days, including lighting tests, the photogrammetry of more than 200 m² of the seabed and videos in 360º recorded with different types of cameras and an underwater ROV.
On land, specialists from the Museo do Mar in Vigo and from Museo Massó in Bueu collaborated in sculpting the archaeological remains which can be seen and manipulate in Galiverso somerxido, such as the roman amphora or the astrolabe, and also the bathyscaphe itself, in which visitors travel during the virtual experience.
Moreover, a 3D sculpture of different marine species living within our marine realm was created with the help of biology experts to ensure realism in the depiction of their aspect, habitat, and behaviour. A special challenge was the creation of a bank of 35.000 fish (sardines) and the simulation of their behaviour through artificial intelligence.
The expansion of the Galiverso
The Galiverso is an initiative of the Xunta de Galicia which uses immersive technologies and virtual reality with the intention of displaying our material and immaterial heritage (artistic, industrial, architectonic, natural, etc.) in different way. An open window to the future Centre of Digital Arts of Galicia which allows Galician citizens and visitors to take part in the creation of a pioneer centre in Spain, and to value the potential of our cultural and creative industries in virtual environments.
The first Galiverso experience opened in the City of Culture in October 2022 under the name “The Galiverso starts here”. It was composed of 12 different scenes in which monuments, natural spaces, and places of great cultural, historical, and turistic value of the four galician provinces could be visited, such as the Apostle’s crypt in the Santiago Cathedral, or the roman temple in Santalla de Bóveda in Mera (Lugo). From January 2nd to January 5th 2023, it was adapted to its Christmas version, with an exclusive experience for children aged over 6 years of age, and where it was also possible to visit the House of the Apalpador, a mythical figure of Galician Christmas.
Nearly 5.000 people visited the Galiverso in the Gaiás Centre Museum from October 2022 to March 2023. The Xunta de Galicia plans to take these experiences of virtual reality also to other museums and libraries in Galicia, as well as to the Polos Creativos (Creative spaces) in Galician schools.
