Honeycode: VariaBees is a smart board game designed for children ages 5-7. The open structure and interactive gameplay develops an intuitive understanding of the concepts of variables and search algorithms without adding to screen time. I created this project as part of a team of two for the Smart Objects Design for Play and Learning class at Penn.
Purpose | Academic: IPD 521/ARCH 721 - Smart Objects Design for Play and Learning
Tools | Soldering station, Solidworks, lasercutter, Arduino, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Problem: Parents want the best for their kids’ education and the concepts around coding are becoming increasingly important to this end. There are many mobile apps that teach children these concepts, but parents do not want their children to be glued to screens, even if they are learning. Tasked with creating a toy that teaches coding concepts for the class Smart Objects: Design for Play and Learning, my partner and I developed a smart board game designed for children aged 5-7 that teaches the simple concept of variables and helps develop an intuitive understanding of search algorithms.
We were interested in the trend of parents looking to return to higher quality, lasting wooden toys and used the simple and approachable design language of these toys as inspiration throughout the project.
Looking at current coding toy offerings, we found the missing product that we wanted to develop: a physical toy that encouraged interaction and allowed for open- ended strategy within a semi-structured play scenario.
With these basic criteria for the toy that we wanted to create determined, we ideated around toys and games of varying forms and covering different coding concepts from sequential execution to if-statements, from debugging to variables.
First Round
We made a game where kids drew cards and “coded” the movements of their player each turn. After having 8-10 year olds play it, we found the competition of the gameplay engaging, but too complex.
Second Round
Feeling that the kids were not fully grasping what we were trying to teach them, we simplified the concept, focusing on variables, as well as the gameplay. Players move according to the variable call from the Queen each round and search the board for the honey.
To enhance the gameplay, we incorporated a smart component where the spaces light up when a worker bee lands on them. Additionally, the center “Queen” button randomly lights up an X, Y, or Z each round.
The final model was constructed primarily from laminated MDF sheets with critical touch points made of solid pine. The electronics shield was made of acrylic and completely removable from the board for debugging purposes. Each cell has a peg that sits on top of a simple LED circuit; pressing the cell lights up the LED and the frosted acrylic portion of the peg diffuses the light.