Geopark De Hondsrug (Drenthe, NL) and Terra.Vita (Germany) are unique natural areas rich in geological, archaeological, and cultural-historical heritage. But how do you bring the stories of these regions to life for primary school children? With an educational game that combines GPS, augmented reality features, and plenty of adventure!
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For many cultural institutions and organisations, presenting stories about our history in a way that engages children remains a significant challenge. The current generation has grown up with the internet and is accustomed to learning in fast, interactive ways. While it can be difficult to maintain their attention, their familiarity with technology also offers numerous new opportunities.
Geopark De Hondsrug and Geopark Terra.Vita decided to build on this insight. They engaged us as serious game experts to develop a game that enables children and parents to explore the areas while playing on their smartphones. The parks already had a clear concept for the core functionality: a GPS-based quest in which 3D objects and educational objectives are distributed throughout the landscape.
ApproachWe set to work developing a story concept and designing the mini-games that can be played at various destinations. Our programmer, Sietse, built a map system from scratch that shows users in real time how far they are from each destination, even without an internet connection and on older smartphones. In addition, we developed a range of 3D models, from dolmens to masks and from mammoths to dinosaurs. These models can be ‘projected’ onto the landscape using augmented reality, making history that is no longer tangible come alive for a young audience.
ResultsWe are proud of the final result: an engaging and user-friendly game in which learning and play are seamlessly integrated. The game, The Lost Collection, not only encourages children to explore the entire area and learn about its unique sites, but also motivates both children and their parents to walk and be more physically active. Those who follow the route carefully will see the woolly mammoth come to life once again in the Drenthe or German landscape through AR, and can even take a picture with it. That is certainly worth walking a little further for, right?
