Design and Field Study of Motion-based Informal Learning Games for a Children’s Museum

This paper discusses our experiences, lessons learned, and future research directions in designing and running a field study of a motion-based gaming system for visitors of a local childrens museum. The system, named Virtual STEM Buddies, uses a large-screen kiosk to present minigames with interactive 3D content, such that the level of performance exhibited by participants indicates a level of understanding about the STEM concepts. The evolution of the system is presented, alongside evidence of improved usability and engagement throughout several prototyping iterations where the system has been used by thousands of visitors. We also describe a recently integrated mid-air free-hand interaction technique that facilitates selection and manipulation while staying accessible and intuitive to child visitors. Ultimately, we aim to learn how to best enable longitudinal interactions with the system that integrate virtual learning with the physically-rich museum learning environment.