Fernhill Park Experience APP

Fernhill Park Experience is an interactive, educational, augmented reality (AR) game based on the new Fernhill Park and Gardens in Stepaside, Dublin. The augmented reality experience has been developed in collaboration with IADT’s Public Design Lab, Noho Creative Design and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

The project has been funded by the Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) under the Discover Programme and led by Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, in a further partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

The mobile phone-based application uses augmented reality technology to display visualisations of the park and a map of Fernhill has been designed to pair with the AR tool. The player will explore and learn about the topics of rewilding, reforestation and renewable energy, and can make real-time changes to the park based around these topics. The player will then choose a final scenario for Fernhill and will learn about the future impact of their decision.

The project aims to provide an accessible learning tool that encourages engagement with the topics of ecology and resource use, to help engender environmentally, ecologically and future aware citizens. It also aims to spark curiosity and engagement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), from groups currently identified as being unengaged with STEM.  The application which can be downloaded from the APP store (Fernhill Park Experience) will be rolled out to schools and libraries by IADT over the coming months.

Although designed for group events such as libraries and schools the game can be played at home by downloading and printing this page