An Invitation: Try ‘I, Chicken’ Virtual Reality Experience at Humboldt State University

High-Tech Project Will Let Students See, Hear, and Feel What It’s Like to Be a Bird Facing Trouble

For Immediate Release:
May 4, 2015

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

“I, Chicken” uses the most cutting-edge VR technology hardware available—including wireless VR goggles, motion-capture cameras, and a powerful computer—to immerse participants in a world where they can flap their wings, communicate with other chickens, take dust baths, and engage in other natural chicken behavior. But as participants soon learn, life for the 26 million chickens who are slaughtered for food every day in the U.S. is no walk in the park.

Where:     University Center Quad, Humboldt State University, Arcata

When:      Friday, May 8, by appointment

“I, Chicken” was made possible by a grant from The Simpsons co-creator and noted philanthropist Sam Simon—who passed away on March 8 but was able to be one of the first to try the experience during its launch in September 2014.

Since then, peta2—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—has taken the project to schools across the country, surprising many students along the way:

• A student at Brown University described the experience by saying, “It was pretty incredible. It made me feel scared. I was super confused the whole time and can imagine that’s what a chicken probably feels like.”
• One Ohio State University student remarked, “I felt hopelessness, confusion, and fear. So it kind of helped me to understand more what chickens feel.”
• “It impacted me a lot to see the world from the perspective of a chicken,” said a student at Smith College. “This made me feel kind of sad .… Life is just not very good for the chickens.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.