Google has launched a 360 degree, interactive documentary to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US National Parks Services.
President Woodrow Wilson enacted the National Park Service Organic Act on the August 24th 1916 “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife” and allow the public to experience America’s natural beauty.
With the help of several film crews, Google have documented five of the best National Parks in the US with interactive, 360 degree videos narrated by Park Rangers. The Kenai Fjords National Park, Hawai’i Volcanoes Natural Park, Carlsbad Caverns, Bryce Canyon and Dry Tortugas National Park are all featured, allowing viewers to swim, hike and dive through America’s finest scenery.
Yosemite National Park ranger Shelton Johnson believes the legislation changed the history of the US. He told Google, “No longer were rivers a force to be dammed, virgin forests a source for board-feet, or mountainsides blasted for gemstones or coal. The idea of parks has the power to transcend culture, a currency whose value speaks of something profoundly human.”