In a first for Tasmania, Kingborough Council is offering two Magical Park opportunities to residents in celebration of Parks Week 2018. The open green space next to Dru Point Bicentennial Park, Margate and Nubeena Crescent Reserve, Taroona will both be turned into digital fantasy lands.
As a way to attract more tech minded families to parks and to encourage children to get out in the open, Council is trialling Magical Park to see if technology can be part of the solution to bring young families and technology loving kids back to parks.
Magical Park is aimed at age’s six to 11 and the vision is to get them moving outdoors in a safe environment. Kids who have used the game have said that they would not only prefer to play mobile games outside, but they also love that they get to run around and play.
A geo-fenced game, Magical Park will not extend beyond the designated parks. The two parks Council has carefully selected have a large area of green space and are not next to any roads.
Another great initiative for Parks Week 2018 is an exciting new augmented reality game, which has been developed with an environmental twist. Ever Green encourages children and families to get out and explore their local parks whilst learning the fundamentals of recycling. Follow the link to a short YouTube clip about the game and more information about Parks Week www.geoar.tech/parks-week.
Other games also available are Augmentia – a fantasy land filled with faeries, kittens and dragons and Dino Land, which is a land from the past, filled with Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Pterodactyl. Collect all of the lost dinosaur eggs and unlock the final dinosaur (Spinosaurus) but beware of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, who might chase you!
It is free for the public to play. However, the following recommendations are advised, along with technical recommendations:
- Make sure you download the Magical Park App while you have access to WiFi (before coming to the park).
- Download Runs on iPhone 5+; iPads 3+ and Android devices with compass, gyroscope, GPS and Accelerometer sensors (Remember to remove your magnet case).
- You will need access to mobile data – 2MB per game.
- Make sure your GPD is on and set to high accuracy.
- We recommend bringing a device for each child, if possible.
Magical Parks will be available from Saturday 10 March until Sunday 25 March. Watch the trailer to see how much fun it is!
Magical Dru Point location
