Dive The Mary Rose 4D At The Mary Rose Museum Review

Reviewed by Lily D

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the VIP opening of the brand new attraction at The Mary Rose Museum. Dive the Mary Rose 4D is a brand new immersive cinema experience at The Mary Rose Museum within the Portsmouth Dockyard in Hampshire. As a mother of three, I am always keen to visit museums and interactive locations that will help my children understand the history of the UK and this certainly helps with this.

The Mary Rose Museum are continuing looking for new ways to treat guests to the ultimate visitor experience. Last year saw the launch of the 1545 interactive attraction where visitors experience how it would have felt to be on board The Mary Rose as it sank. Visitors then follow the visitor route through the museum passing exhibits, displays and information about the ship. The route itself compliments the centre piece of the museum which is The Mary Rose, providing magnificent views of the wreckage of the ship, beautifully lit and displayed with the use of clever technology and lighting.

The finale of the route drops visitors at the brand new attraction: Dive the Mary Rose 4D, the perfect new addition to the museum. Complementing museum exhibits, this brand new interactive experience shows visitors exactly how immense a task it was to relocate this magnificent ship from his resting place on the bottom of the seabed, to its current location within the Mary Rose museum. It is a wonderful addition to the museum, explaining to visitors exactly how difficult a task it was move and retrieve the wreckage but is done so in an interactive, exciting and visually stimulating way. Over 500 divers, engineers, and maritime experts were involved in this remarkable feat and the new attraction is a fun and inventive way to get that across.

Visitors watch an introductory video following the collection of a pair of 3D glasses. Documentary maker Ross Kemp joins some of the original divers who helped raise The Mary Rose to present the ground-breaking new experience. Guests are then invited to take their seats, sit back and enjoy.  The experience uses Unreal Engine, a state-of the-art technology used in computer gaming, to bring this key moment in history to life. Partnering with Figment Production, world leading experts in this field, The Mary Rose Trust expects the attraction to be a huge draw to families as it helps
all generations learn the detail behind one of the most important historical shipwrecks in UK history. As the film progresses, not only are visitors treated to spectacular 3D animation bringing the seabed to life, they also experience surprises along the way immersing them with a 4D experience and giving the impression that they are right there in their diving suits alongside them. With vibrating seats, wind effects and a real family favourite, the bubbles, the experience is one not be missed. Original archive footage includes His Majesty King Charles III (formerly HRH Prince of
Wales), diving with the expedition team 40 years ago, before The Mary Rose was raised in a spectacular Maritime salvage and recovery.

This is a superb addition to what is already an informative, interactive museum. In my opinion Dive the Mary Rose 4D completes the story told throughout the museum. We all left excited, with a new admiration for all involved back in the 1970s and 80s and desperate to return again soon.

Dive the Mary Rose 4D opens 31st March at the Mary Rose Museum within the Portsmouth
Dockyard. A must-see for all ages!

Rating: 5/5

For more information and to book your tickets visit: www.maryrose.org