Eerie cave descent to hear the world’s largest musical instrument in VR

Also this week, fly on the wing of a skywriting plane and dive into a flooded nuclear missile silo from the Cold War:    • VRtually There | Season Two  

Deep within the chambers of the Luray Caverns is an organ millions of years in the making. Let the notes of the largest musical instrument in the world guide you through a stunning maze of remarkable features in this underground realm.

The first time Otto Pebworth heard The Great Stalacpipe Organ he was around six years old. He was mesmerized by the sound.

“In a lot of ways it’s nature singing at its best,” Pebworth said.

The Great Stalacpipe Organ is unlike any other organ in the world. In order to listen to it you must go underground. Travel through a cave with VRtually There in the video to hear the largest musical instrument on Earth.

The organ is the most notable feature of the Luray Caverns, a vast cave system in northern Virginia. It was created in the 1950s when rubber mallets were strategically placed on 37 stalactites across three and a half acres of the caverns. It’s these stalactites, formations made of mineral deposits that hang from the cave ceiling, that replace the metal pipes found in traditional organs.

The sound of the organ followed Pebworth into adulthood. He now works as a pipe organ technician during the week, and plays organs during the weekend. Each time he sits in front of a keyboard everything slows down. The process of playing the instrument brings him inner peace. He hopes that everyone who hears the organ embraces the unique sound as a pleasant break from the craziness of the world above the ground.

Descend into Luray Caverns to see Pebworth play the incredible instrument in the video above.

From the USA TODAY NETWORK and YouTube, it’s VRtually There, bringing you cool VR experiences each week.

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