PHOTO: Springvision

Springvision comes to the Garden!

Are you tired of winter? Silly question—we all are. Spring is way overdue.

Cheer up! The Garden has an answer to the dragged-out-winter blues: Vertverre (green vision) glasses. Put on a pair of these specially designed glasses and you’ll see the drab landscape turn into a time when spring came six weeks early.

PHOTO: Google glasses showing a spring view through the prism, while the landscape is brown and wintry.
Using Google.AFD glass technology, the user’s experience of spring seems real.

Our sense of sight is a curious thing, and it can be manipulated to affect our outlook on the world. In the 1950s, a scientist created a set of vision-flipping goggles that made the world appear upside down. The first people who tested these glasses couldn’t even walk without stumbling when first wearing them. Eventually the brain adjusts, so that wearers see the world right side up again through the lenses. That is part of the scientific principle behind Vertverre.

Garden staff approached Google.AFD about this idea two years ago when we realized the wonderful health benefits of experiencing an early blooming spring. Google.AFD works with not-for-profit organizations like the Garden to develop tools and technology for a better world. While creating sense-altering vision seemed like a stretch, Google.AFD techies were already working on several devices to enhance retina viewing, so the partnership turned out to be a natural fit.

PHOTO: March view of the shoreline from the land bridge.
Vertverre™ technology turns the clock
forward, turning this…
PHOTO: May view of the shoreline from the land bridge.
…into this lush, verdant landscape.

How does Vertverre work? The lenses in these glasses send a signal to your retina, which transmits to your visual cortex, releasing a memory of that early blooming spring from years past. When you look at the landscape, Vertverre tricks your eyes into remembering spring flowers, green grass, from warmer times. The effect is so stunning that it has the same mood-enhancing effect as light therapy. Instantly you feel healthier and have a more positive outlook on life.

As the French philosopher Henri Bergson wrote: “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” Come visit the Garden and see for yourself. We only have a limited number of prototype models for our visitors and are taking reservations on a first come, first serve basis.

To reserve your pair click here today!

©2014 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

 

Published by

Kathy J.

Kathy J. has been learning and teaching kids about nature for more than 20 years. She collects bugs, watches squirrels, does not get a rash from poison ivy, practices “snacker” behavior in winter, and is always on alert for interesting plants and animals. When she’s not watching something in the trees or spending time with her teenage daughters, she’s overseeing programs for teachers and students at the Garden.

One thought on “Springvision comes to the Garden!”

  1. And a happy April Fool’s Day to you too! (Sounds appealing, though …)

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