Do you remember the first time you watched a cartoon on an old-school slide projector? Or when you listened, as a child, to an audio story? These small and magical childhood memories are experienced on a different level by today's kids. By 2025, 2 billion of the global population will be made up of the youngest generation, generation Alpha. Children born between 2010-2025 were born along with iPhones, iPads and applications. But traditional education is not keeping up. Today's study materials are not adapted to the most technology-infused generation up to date. Tales for the Future is a children's book that includes 11 stories about equality, empathy, tolerance, activism and more, each of them being illustrated by a different artist, and augmented with Augmented Reality technology. Children will be able to watch the animated pictures through their parents' Facebook cameras. "We are witnessing a new era in children's education, one in which Augmented Reality remixes the real world to deliver extraordinary experiences for kids. And we want to be among the first to create such experiences. ” says Andra Bria, author of the book. The 13 artists who worked on the book's illustrations and Augmented Reality effects come from all over the world, from Guatemala to Poland, and from Madagascar to Japan. “We wanted the little ones to discover the stories through the eyes of a diverse palette of artists, so that they could have a multicultural perspective on things. The exposure to a wide range of styles and characters expands a kid's imagination and ensures they are getting a balanced view over the world ” says Andra Bria. The first story the team augmented is called "Akna & The Cosmos" and focuses on STEM education for little girls, encouraging boys and girls alike to learn about space, planets and solar systems. “In order for storytelling to come to life, we worked with Spark AR, a technology developed by Facebook. We also added a sound design component to create an even more special experience for children. ” says Laura Alvarez, AR artist. “For us, this project was a conscious reminder that AR is ideal for education. And education is always something we are personally striving for.” says Allan Berger, AR artist. The book Tales for the Future can be ordered on the website http://talesforthefuture.com/. You can also create a monthly subscription, that delivers you, each month, a new, personalised story, created just for you.
