Surf Life Saving goes interactive at Aotea Square to celebrate 100 years

Over the past 100 years Surf Lifeguards have saved more than 50,000 lives on our nation’s beaches – and during the summer of 2010/11 Surf Life Saving will celebrate the legacy of dedication and leadership, from the men and women who have served New Zealand beaches over the past century.

As part of Surf Life Saving’s Centenary celebrations a highly interactive exhibition titled ‘Between The Flags – 100 Years of Surf Life Saving’ is set to open it’s doors in Auckland at Aotea Square on  Friday 7th January. 

State Insurance has provided the support to Surf Life Saving to enable the exhibition to move throughout the country. The exhibition will be on display until January 11th at The Edge in Aotea Square and is free for all New Zealanders.  It is an amazing display of interactive technology and contrasting historical photographs housed in a 12m container, fitted out with state-of-the art equipment to highlight the changes to Surf Life Saving over the last 100 years.

The exhibition contains an array of interactive exhibits including the popular IRB Rescue Challenge, where the driver sits on a simulated IRB pontoon and must steer the outboard motor in front of a 46 inch flat screen with animated graphics.  The drive must attempt to rescue his patient within the designated timeframe – it’s great fun for all ages!  Historical photographs and memorabilia line the walls and tell legendary stories from the past 100 years of Surf Life Saving.

The exhibition also includes a simulated rip scenario - designed to help educate the public about the dangers of rips and currents and to better understand the dangers associated with rips.

“This is a truly impressive display of our history and is proving extremely popular throughout the country. As part of our celebrations we want to share our 100 year history with the public and show how Surf Life Saving has evolved throughout the ages, and the feedback we are receiving is fantastic.  We encourage locals and holiday makers alike to take a tour through one hundred years of our history.” said Grant Florence, Surf Life Saving Chief Executive.

‘Between the Flags’ is touring through major town centers around New Zealand until April 2011.   The tour will move to Mt Maunganui on January 25th. It will visit over 14 locations in New Zealand before heading to Christchurch for the Surf Life Saving Centennial National Championships in March, and then moving to St Clair SLSC in Dunedin in April

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Editors Notes:

·         ‘Between the Flags – 100 Years of Surf Life Saving’ is a fully transportable interactive exhibition highlighting the last 100 Years of Surf Life Saving in New Zealand.  It will travel throughout the country from October 2010 – April 2011.  It is free for all New Zealanders.

·         The technology is housed in a 12 metre container fitted out with state-of-the art interactive flat screens, the world’s first interactive IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat) Challenge and an interactive hands-on understanding of Rip Technology. 

·         The exhibition will inform the public about the history of Surf Life Saving in New Zealand, as well as educate users about Beach Safety by engaging with interactive technology. 

·         The exhibition will act as an educational tool for schools learning about Beach Safety. It encourages the learner to find answers to questions through his or her own exploration of the exhibit.

·         ‘Between the Flags’ contains a comprehensive selection of historical and current memorabilia including equipment, costumes, photographs and medals.
 

·         The exhibition includes information on all 73 Surf Life Saving Clubs throughout New Zealand.
 

·         ‘Between the Flags – 100 Years of Surf Life Saving’  will tour Wellington, Otaki, New Plymouth, Napier, Gisborne, Taupo, Whangamata, Auckland, Mt. Maunganui, Christchurch, Dunedin from October 2010 – April 2011.  It will then be on display at Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum in Auckland for a limited time from July 2011

·         ‘Between the Flags – 100 Years of Surf Life Saving’ is an exhibition that is made up of five components that will appeal all New Zealanders:

A detailed timeline of Surf Life Saving in New Zealand

Technology Showcase - equipment and memorabilia highlighting the evolution of technology in Surf Lifesaving over the last 100 years - including: Swimming costumes- from wool to nylon to lycra, Lifeguard equipment – from reel and lines to tubes and flippers, Increasing technical equipment – defibrillators, first aid equipment, Material and design changes from wooden equipment to fiberglass, Development of powered rescue boats – the story of the IRB

Interactive Surf Cap Touch Screens

Housed across 5 screens, the interactive Surf Lifesaving Caps store information and stories from the 73 clubs throughout NZ. When a visitor touches a Cap, information appears showing where the club is             located, details about the club’s membership, rescue statistics, stories and photos.

IRB Rescue Challenge

Perform a simulated rescue on the world’s first interactive IRB Rescue Challenge. The object of the game is to ‘drive’ the IRB out through the surf to pick up a patient and return safely to shore.  This combines game logic with a 3D element consisting of a Mercury outboard motor – a unique and highly complex interactive experience. Software has been custom designed to realistically simulate driving an IRB through waves. It is individually crafted to react to waves whilst being motor propelled. The boat will flip and the crew fall if a mistake is made.

Rip Interactive

The display includes a water filled beach scenario. By turning a handle visitors can make the water move in and out, like a small wave machine, and watch what happens to the water. All that water comes into the beach needs to find a way out again and visitors can see for themselves how rips, holes and other hazards occur in the sea.

The Rip interactive is a hands-on teaching tool and includes aerial photographs of the beach so visitors can learn how to identify rips.