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PUBLIC & OPEN SPACES
Who knows but one of the youngsters playing games
‘out there’ may have the next great idea for the use of
technology. It’s all about nurturing our community and
appreciation of the environment.”
“Augmented Reality is a powerful tool to get kids
engaged and we have had a lot of queries from schools,
who would like us to develop educational content.
We have another product on our road map, which will
eventually allow kids to upload their own 3D models
and build their own worlds and games to share with
their friends in their local park.” Says Langlotz.
Primary schools, who took advantage of a trial,
already saw benefits in using Magical Park. Brian
Eales, Principal from the Clive Primary School in New
Zealand says ”Magical Park opens up a whole new
dimension for children linking the engaging world
of devices and the great outdoors. It allows for the
John Wilkinson, the Sport & Recreation Planner
from the City of Unley in Adelaide adds “Technology,
manifested through our smart phone screens, is
capable of providing content that can be changed
quickly and relatively effortlessly. We knew
involvement in the Magical Parks initiative would
spark the community’s interest, and this educated
assumption was proved correct when participation
in the initiative by City of Unley residents was the
highest during the 2 week period. We have now taken
the plunge to set up a permanent Magical Park at
one of our reserves, and will use this opportunity to
investigate how we use augmented reality technology
in other ways, such as planning and activating other
spaces around the Council area.”
Since Parks Week, councils and museums across
Australia have asked Geo AR Games for bespoke
content facilitated through Augmented Reality. From
a virtual Australian wildlife park with Dingos and
Kangaroos to recreating historical events, anything
is possible. “The most expensive part for a bespoke
content app is the creation of the 3D content and
carefully planning the AR experience so it doesn’t turn
into a 30 second gimmick. A successful app needs to
have purpose in order to engage the user and create a
‘WOW’ experience.” Says Langlotz.
Marketing an invisible park attraction is a challenge
and requires some planning. Clarence Valley Council
attracted families with free ice cream and coffee for
the park launch while other councils called up the
local TV stations and newspapers to report about the
sightings of dinosaurs in their local park.
creative use of devices and mathematical concepts
while maintaining physical activity. It can strengthen
the tuakana teina relationship when older students
work with young students.”
A lot of younger kids learn to read by playing
computer games and are driven to read well so they
can understand the instructions and how to play the
game. Playing games on the couch adds to the on
average 8, 5 hours kids sit per day these days and so
mobile gaming outside gives them at least exercise
and some fresh air. Younger parents are not as
concerned about screen time and technology as the
baby boomer generation who would rather see kids
happy playing with sticks and mud. But technology
can’t be stopped and our young digital natives are
growing up in a world where technology moves fast
and they will have to keep up.
GOVLINK » ISSUE 2 2017
Scott Watson, Events Officer at the City of Casey,
Melbourne “Parks were selected across the
municipality to allow fair access to residents and the
activity and locations were promoted through a social
media campaign due to tight timescales. The response
was unprecedented with a single post reaching over
69,348 people, had 452 comments and was shared
319 times. Wi