JOINT MEDIA ADVISORY

For Immediate Release

An Orca Pod in Winnipeg? Immersive AR Experience “Critical Distance” Launches at Manitoba Museum for Ocean Week 2025

Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, MB – May 28, 2025

Nature Canada and the Manitoba Museum invite media to an exclusive preview of Critical Distance, a groundbreaking augmented reality (AR) experience that immerses visitors in the world of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales of the Salish Sea on Canada’s West Coast.

Launching its Canadian tour in Winnipeg for Ocean Week 2025, Critical Distance transports visitors into the Salish Sea, home to a pod of endangered orcas known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Through social augmented reality, audiences follow eight-year-old Kiki and her family as they navigate the challenges of underwater noise and declining salmon stocks – threats driven by human activity.

The experience makes an emotionally powerful case for ocean conservation by blending technology and storytelling. Produced by Vision3, Critical Distance is going on tour with Nature Canada in association with the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada.

Following the AR experience, Nature Canada invites visitors to join the movement to protect Canada’s ocean by connecting directly with ocean conservation experts through a “Ask the Experts” interaction. Visitors can ask whatever they want about the orcas, the threats to the Salish Sea, or the ocean in general. And they will receive real answers from experts including Indigenous elders, marine scientists, and nature advocates.

“It’s like sending fishy letters to Santa.”
– Scott Mullenix, Exhibit Director, Nature Canada

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MEDIA PREVIEW DETAILS:
Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: Manitoba Museum, 190 Rupert Avenue, Winnipeg

Opportunities:

• Experience the Critical Distance AR presentation
• Interview Nature Canada’s ocean conservation experts in-person
• Hear remarks about the national tour (including why we launched it thousands of kilometres from the coast)
• Light Refreshments

The following experts will be available for media interviews:

Adam Olsen (SȾHENEP)
Lead Negotiator and Member, Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP)

Julia Laforge
Protected Areas Policy Manager, Nature Canada, Ottawa

Rebecca Brushett
Marine Planning and Engagement Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre, Corner Brook and Halifax

Representatives from Vision3, Nature Canada, the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, and the Manitoba Museum will also be available for comments.

Note: The AR experience contains flashing lights and loud sounds. It is recommended for visitors aged 10 and up.

Learn more about Critical Distance in the provided video, courtesy of Microsoft: https://vimeo.com/601770645

To RSVP or request interviews, please contact:

Scott Mullenix
Communications Director
Nature Canada
media@naturecanada.ca | 613-366-4776 (call or text)

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
Manitoba Museum
bhayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca | 204-988-0614

Nature Canada is Canada’s voice for nature. Representing over 200,000 nature lovers and a network of more than 1,200 nature groups, Nature Canada has helped protect millions of acres of parks and wildlife areas in Canada and countless species that depend on this habitat as well as engaging hundreds of thousands of Canadians in nature through its activities. Nature Canada has been raising Canadians’ voices for nature for over 80 years.