Second Life Delights Lurk in Every Corner (& Rooftop) of TLE’s Newest Complex

By: Alas Zerbino - TLE Official Blogger

It’s done (more or less), and it’s delightful (more, definitely not less)!

With only a few classroom furnishings left to add, construction of the newest virtual education building at TLE in Second Life is complete. This complex houses the TLE Educational Network’s School of Nature and School of the Humanities, but like every build at TLE, it features delights for the eyes and ears, and whimsically fun features for the young at heart.

I thought this latest addition to the TLE Educational Network campus in SL, with its combination of natural and man-made elements, was looking pretty good when I visited it toward the end of its construction. But when TLE owner Kitviel Silberberg added his finishing touches after the builders hammered the last nail in, it became what may be the current “jewel in the crown” at this virtual education center in Second Life.

Here are a few glimpses of what you’ll find at the new TLE School of Humanities & Nature complex in SL:

First, the Magical Gardens: This is my “old favorite” waterfalls encased in a stunningly designed hothouse, which I blogged about in the earlier post. The hothouse is the brainchild of Kitviel Silberberg and the design and construction finesse of the site’s designers/builders AEster Hathaway and Frederic Graves.

What gives the Magical Gardens – as well as the rest of this complex – extra-special meaning is that the entire complex is dedicated to the memory of James Getrost, a dear man and the father of a good friend of mine and of TLE’s, Shay, who assisted her father on his long and courageous journey through the wilderness of cancer before he died recently.

So, I sit on one of the benches in the Magical Gardens and watch the carefree flights of the butterflies and listen to the birdsong, or switch my “world” to “midnight” and, in mouselook mode, I gaze up through leaves and the splashing water to star at the night sky full of stars and a full moon – and feel some comfort despite all the losses of loved ones everywhere.

From the Magical Gardens, you can walk directly into either of the two classrooms in the TLE School of Nature building. Most appropriately, this building stands between the Magical Gardens and another outdoors area, the TLE Educational Network Atrium, and sitting in these virtual classrooms in SL, you only have to look right or left to see beautiful plants and flying critters!

But the real fun is above the classrooms, on the roof of the building! Fly up to the roof (or take the walkway across from the Administration Building, another recent build on the TLE Main Campus) and you’ll discover a whimsical “nature preserve” that’s taken up residence on the brightly-colored tiles of the roof.

Here you can play with animated mama and baby rhinoceroses, a pair of eagles, and a couple of crocodiles who live amid the slightly odd SL trees planted on the roof.

What made me just laugh out loud when I got up there, however, was my old friend from TLE Storybook Land, the ferocious carnivorous Venus flytrap plant that is always hungry for an avatar or two! Right-click and “sit” on any of the three “baby” flytraps, and you’ll get a throne-like resting place. BUT, click on the red “feed me” ball, and you’ll end up screaming and kicking to escape from the monster jaws of this blood-thirsty plant! (Hint: clicking your “stand up” button will release you.)

From this rooftop, you also can access the hothouse’s glass-and-wood walkway that lets you climb up to the top of the waterfalls and gaze at its watery delights from various levels. In the photo below, you can see several avatars walking at different levels.

The colorful rooftop also gives you access to a bridge that takes you to the second floor of the TLE Administration Building, where you can walk up a few steps and click the “Students Corner” sign to open the hidden portal into the student lounge.

Be sure to check out the “Students Corner,” where a roomful of R & R amenities awaits you. A great place to relax after class or work on homework. The “views” out the windows are a delight!

The final component of this virtual education addition in Second Life is the TLE School of Humanities classroom building. It stands on the other side of the atrium, which connects the two classroom buildings, and is decorated with fun, motivating designs, created by SL Designer AEster Hathaway built by Frederic Graves, partners in the SL design/building firm -InSync-.

Now I just can’t wait to take a class in these new buildings!