It started with a hockey game. After we picked up our tickets and were walking toward the entrance doors of the digiPlaySpace my daughters noticed a gigantic digital hockey game taking place on the wall. A super friendly digiPlaySpace staffer helped us get logged into the program, so that we could play along. Did I mention I am terrible at playing any sort of video game? Much to my children’s delight, they figured out how to control their players quickly and my player was stuck skating circles in the corner. While we could have stayed and played hockey all day, it was time to head off and explore the rest of the digiPlaySpace. I had a feeling that this was going to be a fun experience.
The digiPlaySpace has 25 installations from 9 different countries. Each installation has a staff member who can help guide children through the interactive game. The installations provide children with a chance to play and learn about everything from video games, green screens and stop motion films, to hands on activities like creating topographical maps with kinetic sand. For older kids there is an area where they can learn about programming, coding and put basic concepts of electricity into practice.
My girls had fun working with the staff at the Lolympics installation, creating a stop motion movie. They were magically transformed into Olympic speed skaters and glided their way through the streets of Toronto.
Another one of our favourite activities was called Flipaper. We really only scratched the surface of our understanding of this one. My girls drew the layout of a pinball machine with different coloured markers. When the paper was placed on the computerized pinball machine and scanned, the pinball game came to life. They were able to bounce a digital pinball through the game board they had drawn. We are definitely going to have to do more research into this one.
I knew it was a successful outing when our ride home was filled with chatter about the videos the girls wanted to make when they got home. The digiPlaySpace was designed with this very goal in mind - inspiring a lifelong passion for creating and innovation.
The digiPlaySpace will be open from March 5 – April 24, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Check out the digiPlaySpace website for further details.
In addition to the digiPlaySpace, on April 8th, the TIFF Kids Festival will be kicking off at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. From April 8 - April 24, visitors can attend screenings of 139 movies from 35 countries. The Opening Night Party on April 8 will feature a screening of the film Oddball. Tickets to the Opening Night Party include the film screening and access to the digiPlaySpace, food and lots of fun activities. For further details, please visit the TIFF Kids Festival website.
This post was brought to you by TIFF Kids but the images and opinions are my own.
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maryanne @ mama smiles says
This reminds me of a digital lights interactive art exhibit that we took the kids to last month. They loved it!
Terri says
Wow! Sounds like so much fun!