Oceano Odyssey - Mission Pelagos has been created as the flagship experience of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco's Mediterranean 2050 programme. The project combines scientific input, immersive design and a protected heritage setting in a single visitor experience. Its starting point is a future in which long-term conservation of the Mediterranean has succeeded, rather than a warning about environmental decline.
The exhibition is installed in the Salle de la Baleine, a century-old gallery. Instead of hiding the room's monumental architecture and suspended marine skeletons behind technology, the design turns them into parts of the narrative. Projection mapping, sound and scenography are used to reveal the architecture, not compete with it.
A shared expedition, not a headset show
Visitors move through the exhibition as participants in a scientific expedition led by Captain Anita and her crew. The experience is designed for families, school groups and international audiences together, without relying on headsets or individual devices. The route passes through seagrass meadows, coral habitats, deep canyons and open waters, where dolphins, fin whales, sperm whales and more than 30 Mediterranean species appear.
The museum's scientific teams were involved from the earliest stages of development, alongside designers, writers and digital artists. Their input informed the narrative, the shape and behaviour of marine species, the reconstruction of habitats and the overall visitor experience. The result is intended to be emotionally engaging while remaining scientifically credible.
Collections and digital storytelling in dialogue
On the mezzanine, the exhibition connects the immersive journey with the museum's scientific collections devoted to the Mediterranean. The arrangement sets contemporary digital storytelling alongside more than a century of research and observation, rather than separating the two.
The technical installation is fully reversible. It accommodates more than 310 m² of projection mapping, synchronised through Medialon show control and a Modulo Pi media server architecture. The aim is for the technology to sustain the illusion without becoming the attraction itself.
An ecosystem built in Unreal Engine
The digital environment was developed in Unreal Engine. It recreates a scientifically informed 300 km² Mediterranean ecosystem, bringing together more than 866,000 digital assets and over 30 Mediterranean species made in close collaboration with the museum's scientific teams.
The project proposes a model in which heritage, science, technology and storytelling are integrated rather than treated as separate layers. It presents immersive design as a way to support the museum's educational mission, add value to the architecture and invite visitors to see themselves as participants in the future they want to protect.