Jobeth Devera of HI Now visits Maui Ocean Center to experience the new Humpbacks of Hawaii Exhibit & Sphere.

Maui Ocean Center is bringing guests eye-to-eye with Hawaii’s humpback whales! HI Now host Jobeth Devera is checking out the new Humpbacks of Hawaii Exhibit & Sphere that’s bringing viewers beneath the ocean’s surface to encounter humpback whales in an immersive, virtual encounter. Heralded as the first visual media experience of its kind, Humpbacks of Hawaii brings a new dimension to Hawaii’s famed whale season and creates a new way to observe marine life without disturbing its natural habitat.

Towering educational panels, child-centric interactive stations, and captivating videos of humpback whales lead up to the Humpbacks of Hawaii experience.

The exhibit hall before the sphere gives guests a better understanding of the lives of humpback whales. Guests “walk” the humpback whale migration to Hawaii while learning about their social bonds, mystery of the song, their connection to the Hawaiian culture, and the different activities that unfold along their epic journey. The collective experience of education, interaction, and immersion is one-of-a-kind. At 58 feet in diameter, the new 118-seat sphere combines 3D glasses and 4K laser imagery to blur the lines of reality with technology that is new to Hawaii. The sphere screen is larger than the average size of an adult humpback whale, placing viewers in perfect proportion to the whale’s true size. This is as close as someone can get to diving with whales without disturbing them in their natural habitat. With the Humpbacks of Hawaii, visitors can learn about whales and encounter them in the sphere year-round.