This article is from page 4 of the 2006-09-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE concept and content of Clare County Council’s new €31.5 million visitor centre has been revealed with the centre-piece being a computer generated image (CGI) exhibition allowing visitors to ‘swoop’ down along the cliff ledge.
The visitor centre is currently under construction, but the council has revealed that the dome is organised into four principal themed areas: ocean, rock, nature and man. A series of interactive and informational displays depicts aspects of these four themes and the interrelated connection with the Cliffs.
The centre-piece of the exhibition will be “The Ledge”, which is a virtual reality experience using state-ofthe-art CGI technology to surround visitors front, side and below, taking them on a journey only possible in a virtual world.
The council states: “Taking the point of view of one of the Cliffs’ many seabirds, visitors swoop along and around the cliff ledges before diving deep below the surface of the water from the viewpoint of a salmon swimming through the undersea kelp forest.
The centre will also contain an audiovisual experience entitled The Clare Journey, which will be shown in the main exhibition area.
According to the council: “This presentation will provide an aerial tour of the many natural and geological wonders that the county of Clare has to offer, whetting visitors’ appetites to see more of this historic and beautiful county.”
“Ocean” will depict how the Atlantic Ocean interacts with the Clare coastline, while the section dealing with rock will have on display a range of exhibits and displays exploring how the Cliffs themselves were formed millions of years ago. The nature section will allow visitors interact with the displays and learn about the interdependence of the ecological chain.
The section dealing with man is to deal with the rich folklore and legends surrounding the area and will include profiles of key local figures in history.