Client: The Academy of Natural Sciences
Project: Explore Butterflies!

2007 MUSE Award for Games: "The butterfly habitat simulator…is a great bit of programming — aesthetically lovely, easy to use, pointedly educational, a lot of fun, and usable to good effect in a short time." Read more about what the judges had to say.

inspiration

The Academy’s Butterflies! Exhibit is the region’s only indoor live butterfly garden, and showcases between 60 to 150 butterflies from 20 to 40 different species on any given day. The Academy wanted to enhance its exhibit space by offering supplementary educational materials through kiosk activities.

narration

Night Kitchen Interactive collaborated with the Academy’s subject matter experts to bring four content areas together as part of one main theme. Given the target audience, Night Kitchen created “Rosa”, an illustrated character representing an 8-year old daughter of a butterfly farmer in Costa Rica, to provide feedback and instructions throughout the interactives.

design

To function as effective learning tools, the interactives were designed to elicit attention, enhance participation, and provide valuable information within a 2-4 minute seat time for each activity. The design elements were carefully created to complement the physical exhibit and appeal to a young audience, while maintaining the scientific integrity of the content.

interaction

The four games provide the learner with varying levels of interactivity. These include a “Build a Butterfly Habitat” game and a “Climate Change” simulation—both global climate/conservation awareness activities—as well as two assessment activities in the form of a “Butterfly Smarts” multiple-choice quiz and a “Field Observation” game.