Angelos Floros
Research Project: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Production: Robotixlab, Makebelieve
Presented: Allou Fun Park, Athens, 2008
Greece's first technological, amusement park is located in Allou Fun Park. Polymechanon is its name and promises plenty of play, entertainment and learning. More specifically, Polymechanon@Allou is an interactive space for entertainment and learning, the creation of which utilizes the results of research conducted by the Educational Technology Laboratory (prof. Chronis Kynigos) of the Department of Educational Technology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens.
Its innovation is that visitors are invited to play the innovative games by understanding basic principles of technology, while at the same time they are forced to cooperate and work in teams, consciously and unconsciously drawing on knowledge and skills from mathematics, computer science, geography, physics and other sciences. Therefore, Polymechanon@Allou! aspires to become a popular destination for entertainment and learning for all ages from 8 to 88 years old.
The toys - exhibits are unique and their counterparts can be found in renowned museums such as the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the NEMO in Amsterdam or the Cité de l'Espace in Paris.
The idea was based on the results of several years of research conducted at the Educational Technology Laboratory of the University of Athens, on the possibilities opened up by the use of appropriately designed software for the education and entertainment of children.
The interactive means are gestures and other body interactions and we explore if such interactions can also facilitate meaningful interactions that employ body and mind. We aim to study the physical exploration of concepts and systems by moving within and acting upon an environment. The testbed for such explorations is Polymechanon, an interactive educational gaming centre where visitors can have full-body collaborative experiences during their visit. Visitors interact with virtual and real objects (e.g. joysticks and push buttons) through which they need to accomplish specific goals to win a game.
The Metro: A simulation of a railway network where players change the orientation of junctions, opening or closing bridges to guide their team's vehicles through specific stations while preventing other teams from doing the same.