Stories and lessons for growing minds
Experience is loading...
WHAT MEMORIES ARE HELD WITHIN THE RINGS OF A TREE?
by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
vr-icon
Play Video
Virtual Reality

The Atomic Tree

by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
Length: 10 min.
Age Level: 12+

This virtual reality/360 film takes you on an immersive journey into the memories of one of the most revered trees in the world—a 400-year-old Japanese White Pine bonsai that witnessed, and survived, the atomic blast in Hiroshima.

From Japan’s ancient cedar forests and Buddhist temples to the family home in Hiroshima where the pine was nurtured for five generations, The Atomic Tree explores the unbroken chain of living stories held within the rings of this tree. The delicate shape of this bonsai contains sacred forests, human family, and deep time, inviting us to reflect on the living strands of kinship that are woven between human and non-human worlds.

How to Watch

vr--desktop
Desktop 360°

For the best experience, turn on your volume and make the video full screen. Next hit play and then click and drag on the video to explore and play with your point of view.

vr--mobile
Mobile & Tablet 360°

Watch via the following apps: YouTube or Within. Download one of these apps from the Apple or Android app stores and search for the title of the film. You can then view the film in 360 directly on your phone or tablet.

vr--headset
Virtual Reality

The virtual reality experience must be viewed through an app on a mobile device. You can watch via the following apps: YouTube or Within. Download one of these apps from the Apple or Android app stores and search for the title of the film. For best results, use a headset, like Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, or the Oculus Go.

More to Explore

Virtual Reality
Sanctuaries of Silence

This film takes you on an immersive journey with acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton into the Hoh Rain Forest, one of the quietest places in North America.

by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
Photo Essay
Kara Women Speak

The culture and livelihoods of Indigenous women of the Omo River Valley in Ethiopia are threatened due to a hydroelectric dam. 

by Jane Baldwin
Film
A Thousand Suns

This film tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley and the unique worldview held by the people of the region who have been farming sustainably for 10,000 years.