The world is opening back up but that doesn’t mean that you have to quit exploring from the comfort of home. A new educational augmented reality experience from Hyundai Motor America and National Geographic empowers families to explore America’s National Parks.

The Outside Academy is a first-of-its kind experience that allows users to discover the parks via digital, social media, and in-person immersive content from three National Parks: Zion, Yosemite, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.

The experience is available for three parks.Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor America.

“Combining technology with creativity, we’re bringing audiences immersive ways to explore some of the most awe-inspiring national parks – whether they’re at home or visiting the locations in person – and seamlessly integrating Hyundai’s vehicles into the experience,” said Andrew Messina, Senior Vice President, Disney Advertising Sales. “We’re proud to deepen our relationship with Hyundai and continue pushing the boundaries of advertising with this first-ever co-branded AR series and offering innovative solutions to engage consumers.”

The Outside Academy has three main components:

• NatGeo.com: The digital hub is an engaging destination, including 360-degree videos, interactive hotspots, video clips, custom articles and how-tos for the drivable experiences
• Instagram: On Nat Geo’s hero Instagram account, users can explore the parks in 360-degree AR
• In-Person: Drivable, in-person experiences use AR animations, text and audio triggered by on-location items to create a more immersive experience

“Outside Academy” launched this week featuring Zion National Park with content from Yosemite National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park being released later in the year.

Hyundai isn’t the first automaker to work with National Geographic. Subaru partnered with Buzzfeed to produce a three-part miniseries about the parks in early 2020. Later that same year the National Geographic channel was one of three TV stations to broadcast the premiere of the Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport. Rolls-Royce has worked with National Geographic photographer Cory Richards on a number of occasions. The media outlet also followed the journey of the 2021 Kia Sorento and filmed footage of it towing the “2021” numerals to Times Square for the annual New Year’s Eve celebration there.

“Outside Academy” was developed in collaboration with National Geographic CreativeWorks, Hyundai’s agency of record, INNOCEAN USA and its media agency, Canvas.

To learn more and discover the content, visit https://www.nationalgeographic.com/outside-academy/.