Recognizing the urgent need to raise the awareness among Filipinos about their role in fighting climate change, Epson and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines have teamed up to launch a virtual museum called “Museo Kalikasan”, an interactive platform that can help deepen the Filipinos’ understanding of climate and environmental issues.
Anchored on Epson’s “Turn Down the Heat” campaign, the virtual museum raises awareness about the impact of climate change in different ecosystems and encourages action about reducing each person’s impact through meaningful ways such as sustainable consumption and transitioning to cleaner sources of energy.
Museo Kalikasan aims to make the learning and discovery of the current state of the planet through a fun, easy-to-digest, and interactive experience for all. The virtual museum tackles climate change through a three-dimensional simulated experience, providing illustrative and immersive explanations on important themes and topics.
The three-dimensional online museum, recommended to be run on web browsers in desktops or laptops for optimal experience, also highlights the role human beings play in the continuous destruction of the environment.
With Filipinos as the main audience, Museo Kalikasan utilizes a unique and highly visual yet straightforward interface that anyone can follow. Akin to many online games, registered users can customize avatars to their liking before starting their virtual adventure wherein they are free to explore three educational biomes—the Arctic, the Tropics, and the City. The thematic biomes discuss a multitude of topics ranging from biodiversity in the ecosystem to the science of climate change, as well as offer virtual experiences and perspectives unique to their themes.
The Arctic biome—engulfed in planes of ice and scenes from the polar region—showcases the Arctic habitat and biodiversity present in the ecosystem for the user’s appreciation, brings to light the effects of global warming in the arctic especially on endangered species, and emphasizes the need for action against climate change.
The Tropics biome—all vast dryland and deep bodies of water—gives a glimpse of the distinct biodiversity in both the tropical terrestrial ecosystem and the tropical marine ecosystem. The biome goes in depth on the effect of climate change on the various tropical habitats and organisms across the world, and how the issue continues to pose as a great threat to the Tropics.
The City biome—full of city skylines and modern technology that users may be familiar with—calls attention to the importance of sustainable living as part of the One Planet Lifestyle. The biome illustrates waste management and pollution as some of the most persistent global problems, and provides users with examples of different and practical solutions that can be implemented in their daily lives
At the end of the virtual journey, users are encouraged to sign a pledge board where they may choose various sustainable lifestyle practices and advocacies they can commit to. It is a small but significant step towards making a big change.
“The battle against climate change can be won by conquering the hearts and minds of people, starting with the youth, who stand to lose most if the climate crisis is inadequately addressed. This partnership with WWF Philippines furthers Epson Philippines’ commitment to building a sustainable future through projects that educate the youth on the urgency of climate change and empowering them to take an active role in protecting the environment and the planet,” said Ed Bonoan, General Manager of Marketing Division at Epson Philippines.
“Technology plays a vital role in the implementation of environmental education in the Philippines. Especially during the pandemic, venturing into the virtual space has significantly helped us continue our work on promoting environmental awareness and spawning consciousness of sustainability among students, teachers, and citizens alike,” said Dino Calderon, WWF Philippines Project Manager for Education for Sustainable Development. “Thanks to our partnership with Epson Philippines, we now have Museo Kalikasan — a new three-dimensional virtual museum designed to bring an immersive experience to users from anywhere in the world. With Museo Kalikasan, visitors can learn about climate change and its impacts on the environment, and discover ways of reducing their carbon footprint, in a fun and interactive way.”
The virtual museum is integrated into Camp Kalikasan, an online portal with educational materials in easy-to-understand formats such as stories, comic strips, games, puzzles, and videos about environmental topics, including habitat conservation, covering marine protected areas, biodiversity conservation, watersheds, rivers, lakes, mangroves; climate change mitigation, covering renewable energy, low carbon cities, climate risks, and sustainable consumption and production, covering food waste, plastic, and finance.