Planetary Pioneers: space science through play

Business context

Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago is a well-established institution that nurtures the imagination and curiosity of children from birth to age 8 through interactive exhibits and programmes. The museum welcomes around 300,000 visitors each year, and its mission is to combine education with engaging play in an environment that is safe and welcoming for the youngest visitors.

In the face of ongoing digitalisation, the museum sought to expand its reach and deepen the impact of its educational activities by integrating technology into the visitor experience. The goal was to showcase expertise in building interactive and immersive applications that enrich museum visits and support learning through play.

Challenge

The task was to create an application that would be both entertaining and educational, while also stimulating children’s imagination and curiosity. The product needed to be interactive, intuitive, and tailored to the users’ age group, so that it would quickly capture attention and encourage independent exploration of the content.

It was also crucial to ensure ease of use on iPads and to design a play journey that would naturally extend the experience beyond the museum exhibit itself. Personalisation mechanisms and the ability to easily preserve the results were intended to increase children’s engagement and make it easier to share the joy with family.

Solution

Using iOS technology, the Leaware team created “Planetary Pioneers” — an engaging iPad application. It allows users to take a photo and place their face into an astronaut silhouette, giving children an immersive experience of stepping into the role of a space explorer and an immediate, compelling reward in the form of a personalised image.

The application was designed to be simple and user-friendly for the youngest users, while personalisation strengthens their sense of agency and cognitive curiosity. Finished photos can be shared by email, extending the fun beyond the museum space and encouraging further conversations about science and space exploration.