On April 28, 2026, Lusófona University and the Peniche Municipality co-organized the first public demonstration of the Immersive Shipwrecks pilot project at the Centro Cívico Intergeracional Prof. Rogério Cação. Throughout the day, approximately 120 secondary school students from Peniche experienced the 360º video via a full-dome planetarium and virtual reality headsets. The project focused on the impacts of climate change on the ocean and coastal areas and, also, the history of the San Pedro de Alcántara shipwreck in 1786 nearby Peniche.
The event was a significant success, with 85.4% of students rating the immersive experience as good (50.7%) or very good (34.7%). A brief survey showed the project sparked local interest, as 45.3% of students were previously unaware of the San Pedro de Alcántara shipwreck but became curious to learn more, while 28% knew of it but wanted further information. Regarding climate change, 60% of students considered themselves reasonably informed and somewhat concerned, while 33.5% felt well-informed and very concerned about current impacts.
After the student sessions, the day concluded with a public presentation for over 50 local residents. This session included a presentation by Célia Quico from Lusófona University and brief talks by Sílvia Santos and Rui Venâncio from the Peniche Municipality. A highlight of the session was an intervention by Jean-Yves Blot, the nautical archaeologist who co-discovered the San Pedro de Alcántara shipwreck site in the 1980s.
