Connecting Children with Nature through Smart Toy Design

What do you get when you take a stuffed animal, shove a smartphone in it, download some nature apps and ask a bunch of kids to play with it for a couple weeks? Answer: Twelve big ideas for how to design for the future of smart toys and nature. In this presentation, we’ll describe how we used a diary study and co-design methods to uncover important design principles that sit at the unique intersection of technology, the outdoors, and nature for the 5-9 year old audience. You’ll walk away with inspiring ideas for designing the future of smart toys and learn strategies for connecting with a hard-to-reach audience of young people.