Climatic Canvas | An Interactive Ecosystem Advanture

This project was an MR interactive installation sponsored by the Children's Museum of Atlanta. Through multiple rounds of prototyping, playtesting, and iteration, we successfully completed the project and showcased it in an exhibition at the museum. The installation received high praise from the museum manager, sparking interest in potential future collaborations.

Concept & Goal

The core concept was to create an interactive system where children could physically "plant" seeds in pods and watch them grow into flowers through a digital simulation. The goal was to provide an immersive, hands-on experience that allows children to engage with the process of planting, nurturing, and learning about the plant life cycle, fostering curiosity, empathy, and environmental stewardship.

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Initial Concept

The initial idea combined tangible interaction, AI recognition, and projection to create a "climate canvas." Children would manipulate weather-shaped items, such as clouds or suns, placing them on a wall to trigger rain or sunshine effects that influence a virtual garden of flowers and vegetables. This tangible installation aimed to teach children about weather and ecosystems.

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The concept was selected for development. However, due to technological constraints, we shifted from computer vision to Arduino sensors. We built the first prototype and conducted initial internal playtesting.

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First Round of Playtesting

After the first playtest, we refined the interaction design and hardware prototype to enhance the user experience.

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Second Round of Playtesting

The second round of testing took place at the museum with children as our primary audience. Feedback revealed key issues:

• Interaction points were too high for children to reach.
• The display area was easily obstructed by the children’s movements.
• Children were more captivated by the physical elements than the digital simulations.

With these insights, we made significant changes to the design. We swapped the positions of the interaction and display areas, ensuring children could easily interact with physical elements and view the digital animations above.

Additionally, we simplified the visual design, transitioning from complex illustrations to a colorful, storybook-inspired style, as we found children were drawn to bright, simple visuals.

Third Round of Playtesting

This iteration brought the project closer to its final form. However, further issues were identified:

• The projection fabric did not meet quality expectations and was removed.
• Interaction felt overly simplistic, so we introduced new elements, such as insects, to enrich the experience.

Final Iteration & Exhibition

In the final iteration, we added various seeds, flowers, and bees to create a lively and engaging "mini garden." The exhibition was a success, drawing many children to interact with and explore the installation. The project achieved its goal of creating an engaging and educational experience, earning positive reception from both the audience and the museum, and paving the way for future collaboration opportunities.