Children's Museum Exhibit & Phygital Design

Economiamo is a simulation-based exhibit about jobs and economics, designed and developed for Explora, the Rome Children’s Museum. The exhibit consists of a network of twelve interconnected phygital installations that simulate different jobs (such as coder, researcher, riding, car testing, fuel refilling, tire pressure control, and oil and water checks), leisure activities (including music, canoeing, and football), a simplified banking system, and an initial avatar-creation totem.

After creating their avatar, visitors receive a ticket with their name and a bar-code, which they use to access and play the installations.

The overall ecosystem is designed to emulate a simplified economic system: by participating in activities categorized as “jobs,” players earn money, which they can then spend on “leisure time” activities.

The bank plays a slightly different role in the experience. Players can transfer money to other users to access multiplayer installations, or choose to invest their money, with the possibility of gains or losses and they can visualize their statistics.

Most installations incorporate a variety of sensors and physical structures (such as a full-size canoe or car), going beyond traditional screen-based interactions. Each activity is translated into one or more mini-games, each designed to explain and highlight key concepts related to the simulated tasks.

Foto: Archivio Explora - Il museo dei bambini