Maryland Zoo takes you to the wilds of Africa through immersive exhibit

BALTIMORE - The Maryland Zoo launched a new exhibit that gives you an experience with wildlife you can't get anywhere else. 

A new exhibit gives you an entirely immersive experience.

Once you put on a headset, you are transported 10,000 feet up a dormant volcano in Rwanda, surrounded by endangered gorillas.

"We are standing in front of the zoo's newest attraction, it's called wildlife quest," Zoo spokesperson Mike Evitts said. "What it does is, it takes you using high tech seats and motion capture VR headsets and surround sound and it takes you from the middle of Baltimore to the wilds of Africa."

The Maryland Zoo worked with a company called "Immotion," and real conservation scientists to capture the 360-degree footage of the gorillas in their natural habitat.

The headset, synced with the moving chairs, makes you feel like you're really there.

"I saw this gorilla and he was smelling me," said Glenn, who was on a field trip to the zoo. "He was so close to me and then his hands touched my head."

During the roughly six-minute experience, guests get to witness the power dynamic between the alpha male and a rival.

"The gorillas kept fighting and the gorilla completely went out of the family," Glenn said.

Maryland Zoo officials say wildlife quest serves an important purpose by letting zoo guests experience wildlife conservation like never before.

"You can come here and you can learn about and experience these gorillas, and then you can see and go learn about our real-life primates here in chimpanzee forests and learn about the conservation efforts we're doing there, such as cell phone recycling," Evitts said.

Zoo conservationists in the video have already been to six different countries this year and this is just a glimpse of the kind of work they do in the field. 

More information about Wildlife Quest here.

Learn more about Maryland Zoo conservation here.