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Focusing on climate change research at the University of Helsinki, Muutosta ilmassa (Change in the Air) exhibition opens to the public at the Museum of Natural History, on Saturday 21st November 2015, just before the Paris international climate conference.

Muutosta ilmassa introduces science and research as effective visualizations. Aalto University Media Lab was invited to create an interactive, pedagogical, but at the same time playful and entertaining game for visitors – children and adults. Museum’s scientists presented wishes of content and game mechanics. The game should reflect what climate change causes for species, environments, species characteristic behavior, species distribution opportunities and threats. The case studies are already extinct frog species and fish species, endangered polar bear and butterfly, as well as an example of rare plants, glacier buttercup (Ranunculus glacialis).
 

Photo by Laura Uusitalo

The end result is an exciting experimental Move or Die, an interactive game, where the player’s task is to ‘carry kindly embracing’ the species to a safe place.
 

Photo by Salla Mehtälä

The project design and implementation of the game took over a year and involved six Media Lab Master students:

Narim Lee, concept, coding and animation

Sanna Reponen, production, project management

Laura Uusitalo, animation, graphics

Joonas Pernilä, sound design

Chen Ling, coding

Niklas Pöllönen, projection, coding

Thanks to Matti Niinimäki, Perttu Hämäläinen, Miikka Junnila.

More information: producer Pipsa Asiala, 050-3684688, pipsa.asiala@aalto.fi

The exhibition is part of the University of Helsinki’s 375 anniversary program and it lasts for two years, kept updated with new research knowledge.