Visiting Pearls of the Planet at Skylight Studios

When I viewed Life: A Journey Through Time at the Annenberg Space for Photography in November I completely missed one aspect of the exhibit. Somehow I didn’t realize that just across the courtyard from the gallery is Skylight Studios, an annex that features complementary exhibits. Last week found me back in Century City so I decided to check out the companion experience – Pearls of the Planet.

Pearls of the Planet is an immersive exhibit where you enter a cozy booth to view live feeds of various environments. On my visit the current subject was the Pacific Ocean. In three separate booths you could experience a kelp forest off the Channel Islands, a jellyfish exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific or a beach in Hawaii.

Needless to say, my favorite was the Hawaiian beach. I settled in a comfy bean bag and relaxed to sounds of the crashing waves. If i imagined long enough I could picture myself there.

Accompanying the pods are various displays of facts about Pacific Ocean life. I enjoyed reading the informative pieces about the vast body of water that lies at our doorstep.

Visiting the exhibit made me envious of the folks who work at the adjacent office towers. If I worked nearby I would always be here on my lunch break.

The exhibit is free and runs through March 20.