Oceanarium, Eilat Marine Park, Underwater Observatory

An Exciting New Attraction at the Underwater Observatory Marine Park in Eilat, The Only Vehicle of Its Kind in Israel.

Introducing... The Oceanarium! The Oceanarium is a manned submarine skippered by Captain Jaws, who built it himself from odds and ends. This amazing trip, which lasts about 17 minutes, begins and ends at the Underwater Observatory Marine Park in Eilat. During this trip, the submarine offers its 150 passengers an unforgettable journey. The passengers are witness to fascinating natural marine phenomena, pass through uncharted areas and undergo a series of dangers and adventures on the way.

But don't worry, at the end of the journey, we return safe and sound to our secure haven, since the Oceanarium is in effect a motion theater, a simulative movie theater that imparts a real-life sense of "being there". The 150 seats are built on platforms (10 seats per platform) that move up and down, tilt backwards and forwards, rotating right and left at up to 120 degrees. In short, this extensive range of movement imparts a real feeling of a journey through the ocean. The situations and developments that occur within the captain's cabin and around the submarine are projected onto three screens installed at the front of the hall. The hall itself features convincing scenery of the interior of this extraordinary submarine, which is a strange mixture of the Nautilus style with futuristic technology. These surroundings play an active part in the journey, by showing the effects of many dangers our submarine undergoes: the ceiling comes down upon the passengers' heads, water enters the hall, and many more amazing phenomena occur.

The journey

The Oceanarium's journey begins in unique coral reefs of the Red Sea. From there, we move through a crack which opens in the African-Syrian fault in the depths of the ocean, to the other side of the Earth - to the Island of Hawaii, where we are spurted out through an underwater lava eruption. In the great oceans, we meet whales and dolphins, experience a hair-raising encounter with a white shark, view the wonder of the birth of a baby seal, sail over Atlantis - the legendary lost island, and return to the Underwater Observatory Marine Park, after a night full of adventures in the depths of the Sea.

The Oceanarium is operated by Captain Jaws and his faithful crew: Drimmer the computer, Yamit the hostess and the invincible Professor Tarshish.

The expected duration of the journey is 17 minutes (if nothing extraordinary happens...).

Concept

The Oceanarium is an edutainment attraction, and is designed for family recreation, offering both youngsters and adults the fun, excitement and enriching experience of the wonderful underwater world. The Oceanarium is the first site worldwide to offer a solution that monitors seat movement for different ages, thus allowing even the most timid to take part in this amazing experience, all those who are young at heart can enjoy a more powerful gut-wrenching experience of motion. In the initial stage, the Oceanarium is presented to audiences in Eilat in two languages - English and Hebrew, one language coming over the loudspeakers, and the other heard through special headphones. Additional languages will be added at a later stage.

A multi-effect experience

The Oceanarium experience affects many senses and is composed of the following elements: 1 . A high quality movie projected on three large-scale screens (4 X 18m). Viewers enjoy a seascape that envelops them from right to left, and thus feel in the midst of this underwater view. 2 . Moving seats that tilt in all directions, according to the motion of the submarine in the movie. 3 . A computer program that coordinates the movement of the seats with the movement of the screens. 4 . Several high-power and sophisticated amplification systems. 5 . Special effects

Sorry, only a limited number of places available. The Oceanarium accommodates only 150 visitors, and the possibility to enjoy this underwater journey is thus offered only to the visitors of the Underwater Observatory Marine Park in Eilat (price for visitors to the park is NIS 15).

Producing the show

The Oceanarium was produced by Orpan, a company headed by Ori Yardeni. Skilled professionals and experts in underwater filming invested immense efforts for a lengthy period of time and succeeded, using three cameras, in attaining amazing pictures of Eilat, Sharm El-Sheikh, Rass Muhammad, and even of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The show is composed of 70% real-life pictures and 30% computerized animated pictures produced via Silicon Graphics computers with the help of the Israeli animation company Voodoo. For this special production, Orpan created a unique three-lens camera that enabled the production of a breathtaking panoramic picture that is projected onto three immense screens at a total width of 18 m and a height of 4 m. In addition to these pictures, the photos of the best nature photographers in the world were purchased from the archives of National Geographic, the BBC, Discovery and others, who welcomed the producers to choose their very best for this Israeli production.

Behind the scenes

The Oceanarium is a joint enterprise of Coral World International Ltd., the parent company of the Underwater Observatory Marine Park in Eilat, and Orpan, the company which produced the show.

Investments in the project totaled over $ 4 million.

Ori Yardeni, CEO of Orpan, raised the idea and implemented the project. The company prepared a special film and developed the special movement technology. Eng. Amos Yardeni, Ori's brother, and a member of the team in charge of developing the prototype of the Lavi aircraft, designed and developed the special simulators and all the show's dedicated technology. The script was written by Ori Yardeni and Oded Avraham, who also directed the screenplay. The scenery was designed by Dov Ben David.

The project was accompanied through all its stages by the staff of the Underwater Observatory Marine Park headed by general manager Ariel Zilber and the scientific manager Aharon Miroz. Scientific advice was provided by David Fridman and Dr. Arik Diament of Coral World International Ltd., the international observatories company that invested in the project. Coral World International is a limited company under the joint ownership of Ampal and the Kahn Group. Chairperson of the company is Raz Steinmetz, and President of the company is Benjamin Kahn.

Contact info Lotan Tourism