The Gruffalo comes to life at Moors Valley with new augmented reality app (Mar 2017)
In the first development of its kind, Forestry Commission England and Magic Light Pictures are bringing The Gruffalo characters to life in the Moors Valley forest through a new, free, augmented reality app.
Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, near Ringwood is one of only 26 locations across England where visitors can join the Gruffalo Spotter adventure through the deep dark wood.
Families can follow clues on an interactive trail and track signs of their favourite characters based on The Gruffalo, the best-selling picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
The self-led trail is packed with fun facts about forest animals with fantastic activities along the way. Once families have spotted the characters, they can use the app to bring the 3D character animation to life and take photos alongside them. These photos are automatically added to the device’s gallery, where they can be shared via social media using the hashtag #GruffaloSpotters.
Taking family forest walks to new heights, the app mixes technology with the real world, encouraging children to get exploring, firing their imaginations and enabling them to have an all-new forest experience at Moors Valley.
The Gruffalo Spotter’s app has been developed and animated by Nexus Studios and is available for free with no in-app purchases from the App Store and Google Play.
A Gruffalo Spotters kit will be available to buy on site and includes animal facts, tips for tracking wildlife, an evidence collection bag, a magnifying glass and a pencil to make a note of your forest finds!
Bridgette Hall, Recreation Manager for Forestry Commission England commented:
“This is such an exciting development and will deliver a completely different forest experience for our visitors. The Gruffalo is a world renowned story and to be able to bring the characters to life in their natural setting is fantastic. It’s great we’ve had the opportunity to join the two worlds of technology and nature together in a sensitive way!”
Katie Davies, Communications Ranger at Moors Valley said:
“Moors Valley was the first country park in the country to have a Gruffalo Trail and we are delighted to now be one of the first to bring the Gruffalo to life with this amazing new technology. Thousands of children have already had wonderful adventures in our deep dark woods thanks to Julia Donaldson’s amazingly imaginative stories, now thousands more will be able to build on those adventures, bringing their favourite character to life at Moors Valley with the simple use of a very clever, free app.”
The Gruffalo Spotters trail and The Gruffalo Spotter app launch at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest on 8 March and run until the end of December 2017.
The Gruffalo Spotters app is free from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon and requires downloading before your visit. A preview of the app is available on youtube.
ENDS
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