1. Pallavi M | Diploma Project
Review Panel Meeting 4
1st September 2009

2. Opportunities
1 Education
Understanding concept
2 People & Play
Sharing a memorable play experience
3 Play process
Imagination, storytelling
Customization Creating heritage rather than an object Constructive
Engaging Collaboration and sharing Tangible
Alternative knowledge resources Individuality and Commonality Security
Variety Freedom and expression
Logic and reasoning
Longer period of engagement
4 Nature
Interdependence & self-sufficiency of a system
5 Material & Aesthetic
Popularizing natural material
Nature & its systems of survival & adaptation Glocalization
Curiosity rather than fear towards nature Interactive and fun
Durable
Inexpensive, everyday
Tactility

3. Insectopia
Insectopia is a large sized physically
engaging board game for children that
allows children to explore the various
attributes of insects. The goal of the
game is to use the attributes to save the
colonies of your insect friends from various
obstacles that come.

4. Concept Product Play Process Play Space Play Partners
Insectopia is a large sized The board game comes in the form of roll Role playing Outdoors With friends or
physically engaging board up mats, a set of cards, etc. The game Group interaction family.
game for children that could be designed to use simple objects Logic and reasoning
allows children to explore like towels or vessels.
the various attributes of
insects. The goal of the game
is to use the attributes to
save the colonies of your
insect friends from various
obstacles that come.

5. Refrigerator stories
This toy uses a refrigerator as a canvas to
tell stories about insects. The insects and
the various parts come as a constructible
set of fridge magnets which when put
together tell the process of insect life and
their environments.

6. Concept Product Play Process Play Space Play Partners
This toy uses a refrigerator The product would come Creative building Outdoors The story is meant to be unfolded day by
as a canvas to tell stories as a set of detachable and Storytelling day along with the help of an adult. The
about insects. The insects attachable fridge magnets Reasoning and development in the story is meant to do be
and the various parts come and a set of cards that observation waited for by the child, and modified with
as a constructible set of unfolds the various stories the help of this adult. The other possibility
fridge magnets which when - probably in the form of that the toy allows is for the child to build
put together tell the process questions and answer sets his/her own story and construct it on the
of insect life and their that need to be played with canvas.
environments. the children.

7. My bug journal
The bug journal is meant to be a place
of recording for the child, when a set
of activities are done. These activities
are designed for the child to explore his
surroundings and closely observe nature
and probably even insects.

8. Concept Product Play Process Play Space Play Partners
The bug journal is meant The product would come as a bag of tools, Expression Garden/ Natural Individual activity
to be a place of recording along with a journal. The tools are meant Reasoning and observation Environment and can also be
for the child, when a set of to be used for different activities around done with friends
activities are done. These the garden, like identifying certain insects and family.
activities are designed for and plants, understanding processes like
the child to explore his the food web etc. The tools could be a
surroundings and closely mixture of traditional and digital ones.
observe nature and probably
even insects.

9. Skitterville
A set of characters in the form of puppets
that come with a set of stories and traits
that teach children about insects and
environments.

10. Concept Product Play Process Play Space Play Partners
The puppets are hand operated made from These puppets are meant to be Home/ School Ideal with an
A set of characters in cloth and other eco friendly material. The played with along with an adult adult (parent/
the form of puppets that puppets come dismantled, and need to be (parent/teacher/nanny etc). teacher/
come with a set of stories put together by the child before playing. There are two processes that nanny etc) for
and traits that teach These puppets come as a set of toys along are meant to occur here: the reading
children about insects and with books. Eg: -constructive exercises, but
environments. -storytelling and role playing can be played
- A book that covers just the quirks of individually and
insects: Preying mantis hang upside down with friends.
when they are bored and hungry, they
are obsessed about keep their feet clean;
butterflies like lazing in the sun when not
doing anything.
- A book on a set of friends: Ants are
friendly with the phycus plants, and get
milk from them, while in return they keep
the plant clean and pest free, etc.

11. Skitterville 2
A kit that contains a set of characters
meant to be created by the child with
different materials. The intention is to
teach the child about insects and also
different kinds of materials and their
properties.

12. Concept Product Play Process Play Space Play Partners
A kit that contains a set The products would come as one set per character. Creative building Home/ School These kits
of characters meant to be Each set contains different materials from which the Storytelling will need adult
created by the child with character can be made. The kit also comes with a and roleplaying supervision and
different materials. The set of cards, and the materials as well. Material guidance to be
intention is to teach the Exploration made.
child about insects and also Eg: Skitter the springtail has the power of jumping
different kinds of materials very high.See how skitter would look when he is
and their properties. made of leaves. How does skitter jump when he is
made of leaves?(instruction guide and flash cards),
the material being palm leaves woven together to
form springtail. The materials could involve things
like paper, cardboard, cloth, ice cream sticks, beads
etc

13. BugHeads
The original idea, bugheads has been
explored further keeping in mind certain
opportunities in the following pages. The
intention behind this exercise is to see how
the first prototype can be taken forward,
having defined the user a lot more clearly.

14. 1
Education
Variety, Layers of knowledge
2 People & Play
Collaboration and sharing
3 Play process
Long attention span
resources, understanding The building process could be a Could be achieved using simple
game for two or more kids.
concept electronics and mechanics
The various parts of the toy could
Print:
allow for a barter system either Imagination, storytelling
The toy can come with a series of
within friends or with manufacturer. Creating characters using helmet
storybooks or cards that talk about
the different parts of insects and heads for children to easily identify
their living environments and learn from
Online: Logic and reasoning
The toy can have an online
Children can understand and
component where children can look
question why certain forms and
up different insects, where they
belong to etc and even have them habits of insects exist and how they
share their creations. came about. This can be supported
by the print or online component of
the toy.

15. 4|5 Nature | Material & Aesthetic
Interdependence and self-sufficiency of a system
Colonies and community building among insects,
occupations of different kind of insects,
Nature and its systems of survival and adaptation,
interactive and fun, popularizing natural material
Visual:
Colour and camouflage techniques used by insects, tactics
like distraction, chemical signals, stealth etc, certain quirky
traits that make them the way they are.
E.g.: daddy long legs, upside down preying mantis etc
Touch:
Use of material teach children about concepts like poky,
slimy, fluffy, delicate, hard, soft etc
Stimulus and reaction: Replicating movements of insects
through mechanics
Auditory:
Audio signals can become a language that children are
taught to recognise
There could be a pair of headphones and mike attached to
the toy, where the child’s inputs could evoke reactions from
the toy
Olfactory:
Recognising scents of various foods could be used for
children to recognise which insect hunts for what kind of
food.