Okapi Island in Second Life
Okapi Island in Second Life
Co-managed by University of California, Berkeley OKAPI (Open Knowledge for the Public Interest) and the Department of Anthropology since April 2007, Okapi Island was our piece of virtual real estate in the 3d environment of Second Life. We used Okapi Island to explore new forms of teaching, learning and public outreach. Until recently, virtual residents of Second Life could visit Okapi Island to explore 3d reconstructions of Çatalhöyük, a 9000 year-old Neolithic village located in present-day central Turkey. Çatalhöyük is the site of ongoing excavations and research by an international team of scholars, including the Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük (BACH team), led by UC Berkeley Professor Ruth Tringham (Ruth Galileo).
Unfortunately, due to the doubling of land rent on Second Life, Okapi Island itself has become archaeological as of February 2012. Look for the final tour of the island here and here from November 2011.
We sent an appeal to Linden Labs in October 2010, but they never responded.
Remixing Çatalhöyük Day at Okapi Island. Nov 2007
January 2008
Okapi Island Image Gallery
Publications and Interviews about Okapi Island
Recent News at Okapi Island
•New buildings created
•Freshman Seminar creates Machinimas
Other links
•Middle Savagery (Colleen Morgan) blog
•Keep in touch by the Okapi Island Blog
Visit Okapi Island - not any more