MELBOURNE, Fla. – Guests to the Brevard Zoo can now make an exhibit come alive like never before. As masks and hand sanitizing are required, the park's new enhanced technology is also one that tells a story.

Jason Ambler is the VP of Digital Media at Falcon's Creative Group. The attractions design company is debuting its newest augmented reality experience at the Brevard Zoo. “At the end of the day, we want to make sure the story is served ahead of the technology," Ambler said. “This AR experience is really custom. There's nothing out there in the consumer world that does this.”

We started off at Falcon's Creative Group's Orlando studios before heading to Melbourne. Once there, we were taken to the Flooded Forest habitat which is now armed with the AR technology. Ambler and his senior interactive designer, Davis Consolo, demoed the technology using a tablet that communicates with base stations and a plasma TV above (so that other guests can see what you're seeing on the tablet). As you point the tablet's camera toward the habitat, pacu fish - which are native to the rainforest - "magically" appear. "Guests can actually experience what it's like to have a forest flooding," Consolo said. “We 3D scanned the whole area.”

The storyline deals with seasonal flooding of the rainforest and how the Pacu fish play a key role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem. “It's the story of [the fish] eating seeds... The seeds that they've dispersed, turn into more plants," Consolo said.

As the story unfolds, the user of the tablet also controls the timing of the stuff happening in the AR content, creating a custom experience. It includes real-time sound effects, like water rising and draining, fish crunching seeds, and trees growing.

The new hand-held augmented reality experience was supposed to open just a few weeks before the pandemic. The zoo indicates a "high-touch area," so guests are to take advantage of the experience using extra sanitation practices.