* Working in progress, still updating.
How to create toolkit to help kids develop scientific mindset and practice through playing?
Wonder-LAND is mixed reality popup book platform that provides an imaginative and safe environment for kids to develop scientific mindset and practice by discovering the unseen and experiment the impossible through metaphorical tools and simulations. It combines AR/VR technology with various traditional paper-based mechanisms from pop-up books, cardboard toys, movable cards, board games and origami. Kids can directly move in physical space and touch the tangible elements to see direct feedback magically, leading to learning through playing.
SCHOOL: Umeå Institute of Design, MIT Media Lab (Fluid Interfaces Group)
TEAM: Individual Project (Yedan Qian)
SKILLS: AR/VR Development with Unity3D (C#) and Vuforia, Paper Mechanisms, HCI Research, Ethnography Research.
System
Kids all love discovering the hidden secrets. Their irresistible desire to crawl into small spaces, peep into holes, and open boxes to find something surprising makes them the best discoverer. However, there are many structures or phenomenon that we can't see without having very expensive or complex tools: the micro such as molecules or bacterias, the macro such as the climate or the universe, the inside such as body organs or the structure of a volcano or mountain.
What if kids could reveal unseen secrets by using magic tools or moving in physical space?
Discovery: Magic tools to show the invisible
Discovery: Pull-stripe to show a different state
Discovery: User Proximity to reveal phenomenon in different scales
Scientific researches often have complicated process and experiments that can be hardly carried out by kids, be it long-term or large-scale, using latest technology or connecting the dots that are far away in the field. But empowering kids to see the world from a different perspective and scale can give them a taste of how to address their curiosity and wonder and what are the scientific mindset and practice?
What if kids could conduct experiments impossible in real life or experiments that is constrained by limitations such as tools, time, scale, safety, resource or money?
Experimentation: Parameter Change with Slider
Experimentation: Parameter Change with Knob
Experimentation: Parameter Change with Joystick
Kids feel easily connected to stories and motivated by journeys and missions. They use analogy to understand new knowledge and use imagination to make sense of the world. During learning, they need to feel being in charge but also need necessary support to achieve good outcomes.
What if kids could experience the world through stories with companions and exciting missions?
Experience: Influence Character with head proximity
Experience: Influence character by touching the targets
Experience: Use gaze to travel in between different world
