Startracks Educational Learning Toy

Press Kit

Unique Properties

This is a board-based matchmaking board game with STEAM properties based on the story of interstellar exploration. The main aim is to educate children in the science of astronomy. The board uses rubidium magnets to mimic the gravitational pull of the planets and the game content is supported by basic knowledge of astronomy. Through the exploration of the planets, children can enlighten their knowledge of astronomy, physics and chemistry.

Dimensions & Packaging

Board: the diameter is 500mm and the thickness is 20mm
Rubidium magnets: the diameter is 25mm and 20mm
Prop card: the lenth is 80mm and the width is 60mm

Tags

Children's educational toys, Astronomy education, Cosmic exploration, Magnetic games, Physics

Production Technology

The launch and landing of the ship is done by the magnetic attraction of the rubidium magnets at the bottom of the board, thus achieving the sensory effect of the planet's gravity. The planetary resources are presented as prop cards with different planetary knowledge content and the corresponding formed functions.
Board material: synthetic wood, rubidium magnets
Board production process: cutting, drilling and grinding on drill presses, board gluing
Prop materials: wood, plastic, iron
Prop production process: hand cutting, 3D printing
Prop card material: coated paper
Prop card production process: colour printing

Design Challenge

How do we make interstellar exploration more intuitive? We made clever use of magnetic fields for analogies to the gravitational magnetic fields of planets, and the game mechanics are two-player versus two-player, with most of the other time spent on two-player versus two-player game mechanics designed to ensure a balanced game.

Project Duration

The project starts in March 2022 and is due to be completed in June 2022 in Zhejiang, China.

Operation Flow

A team lands by launching a spaceship (iron blob) which is attracted by the gravitational pull of the planet (rubidium magnet magnet). Upon landing on a planet, they receive a prop card for that planet, which is marked with different astronomical and physical knowledge and the corresponding game skills. The game is played on both sides by activating the skills on the cards, and the first one to achieve their goal wins the game.

Research

Type of study: STEAM educational games suitable for the developmental characteristics of children aged 7 to 12 years
Objective: To develop interest in learning astronomy and physics for children aged 7 to 12 years.
Methods: Child development psychology, game design, human-computer analysis, CMF analysis
Data collection: Play preferences of 7 to 12 year olds
Use of research tools: Rhinoceros 3D, KeyShot, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PhotoShop

Inspiration

STEAM education for children is gaining more and more attention. In the field of science education, the knowledge of the science section of products involving the knowledge of cosmic astronomy is weak and of a single type, which does not allow for systematic science education on astronomy knowledge. At present, there are fewer products in the market that involve knowledge of the cosmic planets and planetary resources, and all of them have weak playability and complicated technology.

Image Credits

Rui Lei
Yi Chen
Zhengtong Wu
Shaogeng Zeng

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