A hundred years ago, the National Park Service was created as a way to preserve and share US public lands for generations to come. The 58 parks are every American’s cultural inheritance, a treasure on par with the great works of art of Europe.

We partnered with Google to celebrate the National Park Service’s centennial with an interactive tour of five of the most spectacular parks for desktop and mobile.

Featuring breathtaking cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra, 360° video, ambisonic audio and music by modern composer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, the site is truly immersive. Shot from helicopters, mountaintops, horseback and underwater, over 11 terabytes of footage gathered over 26 days and 18,949 miles was edited down to over 25 minutes to create the final experience.

Leveraging new techniques related to 360° animation, directional audio and WebGL, we created additional layers of interaction to let visitors gain a richer understanding of topics like climate change, astronomy and bat echolocation.

Visitors discovered the experience through a rare CTA on the Google homepage.

Nothing can replace the feeling of exploring America’s wild places firsthand, but the project makes the best of the parks accessible to everyone, and gives even frequent park visitors experiences they couldn’t have any other way.