Seacam Group

Seacam Working Group mock up for the VMC. Seacam Working Group -- Virtual Museum of Canada Project Founded in 2003, the Seacam Working Group is a community-based team dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the rich legacy of invention left to the people of the Sunshine Coast by Donald M. Hauka. For the past year, the SWG has been working in cooperation with the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives to catalouge hundreds of drawings, photographs and artifacts left behind by Hauka, an inventor who put the first remotely-operated submersibles into the waters of the West Coast in 1964. The SWG and the SCM&A have worked together to mount an exhibit of one of Hauka's submersibles in the musuem in Gibsons, B.C. This fall, the SWG and the SCM&A are teaming up once again to enter the proposal call for the Virtual Museum of Canada. The illustration above shows a mock up that will act as a starting point for designing the "Don Hauka: A Local Leonardo" virtual exhibit. The SWG and museum will work in partnership with Capilano College students to design and develop a first-class exhibit which will show the range of Hauka's inventions as well as 2-D and 3-D interactive educational games.

Looking for sunken vessels in Howe Sound mock-up. 2-D and 3-D games -- fun and learning This computer sketch is a very basic start to what the SCM&A and the SWG hope will become a fun and fascinating 3-D educational game based on the experiences on Don Hauka while working with submersibles in Howe Sound for almost four decades. Players will be able to maneuver a virtual submersible around the varied topography of Howe Sound and learn about West Coast industries, the environment and of course, lost treasures of the deep. The talents of the SWG, museum, Capilano College and other partners will make the sights and sounds below the waves come alive in this exciting project.

Don Hauka and crew launch a submersible, c. 1968 Don Hauka: A Local Leonardo Don Hauka was born in Taber, Alberta in 1922. He moved to Gibsons in the early 1950s and went to work designing and building submersibles using the new technology of the video-camera. He left a treasure trove of drawings, notes, log books and artifacts, including a substantial number of submersible components. The Seacam Working Group's ultimate goal is to reconstruct the Mark IV submersible and launch it into the waters of Howe Sound.