Thin Ice VR opens at the Australian Museum (AM) on 6 July, taking visitors on one of the world’s greatest against-all-odds adventures following in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s footsteps on the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was trapped in Antarctic ice and had to be abandoned by the crew; what followed is regarded as one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Created by adventurer, environmentalist and documentary filmmaker Tim Jarvis AM, the immersive virtual reality experience, which won the Best VR Film at Cannes and Los Angeles Film Festivals 2022, uses cutting-edge technology to allow viewers to experience the monumental challenges faced by Shackleton and his team during the last journey of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. 

Tim Jarvis AM said Thin Ice VR presents a unique account of humanity asserting its will over the extremes of nature and highlights the environmental challenges faced in the Antarctic today. “Shackleton’s journey of survival is a lesson in determination, optimism and the leadership needed to prevail against the odds. A hundred years ago, Shackleton’s goal was to save his men from the ice. Today it is the ice that needs saving from the human-induced climate change that threatens it,” Tim Jarvis commented “The environment traversed by Shackleton has now been radically transformed by the effects of our actions. Just as Shackleton had to change course once his ship Endurance became frozen in the ice, so must we if we are to protect our world – the very foundations we stand upon.” Australian Museum Director & CEO, Kim McKay AO said Thin Ice VR was a remarkable achievement in storytelling which reimagines an iconic journey for a modern audience.  “Thin Ice VR places the viewer into the centre of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic journey across high seas on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Supported by a crew of 27, Shackleton’s hopes of becoming the first group of explorers to traverse the Antarctic continent were dashed in dramatic fashion, and the Thin Ice VR demonstrates the courage and conviction these intrepid adventurers had to harness in the fight for their lives,” Kim McKay commented “This VR experience takes us back in time to a remarkably different environment, but the themes of survival, courage and working collaboratively remain as relevant now as they were more than 100 years ago.”  In 2013, Tim Jarvis re-enacted Shackleton’s open boat voyage from Elephant Island 1500 kms across the southern ocean to South Georgia. His Shackleton Epic Expedition provided the foundation on which Thin Ice VR was created. “I am privileged to have worked with Tim on his Shackelton Epic Expedition in 2013. Now the Thin Ice VR brings that odyssey to life in a way that can be experienced by visitors to the Australian Museum,” McKay commented.