Description:

Wild Wetlands is a toy designed for children aged between 5 and 12, with the primary goal of encouraging children to engage in water play with nature. The core interaction involves creating a route, establishing a consistent water flow, sending the eel (Tuna) down the route, and then repeating the process with modified paths. It is a trial-and-error freeplay game guided by a main objective: get the eel to the ocean tile.

Eels migrate from wetlands down freshwater rivers to the ocean to spawn. After hatching, young eels must travel back up these rivers to mature in the wetlands, completing their life cycle. However, human modifications to waterways, such as dams and culverts, often block this journey. This real-world issue continues to impact eel populations across Aotearoa. Rivers and streams play a vital role in our society. Wild Wetlands encourages children to spend time outdoors and engage with these natural environments through the play structure of the modular tiles and the open-ended narrative around rivers and streams, which this design affords.

To communicate this problem, we designed 11 different tiles that make up a variety of configurations for redirecting water flow, including a combination of natural and industrial tiles. The natural tiles are designed to mimic the natural curves and multi-directional paths of rivers, whereas the industrial tiles represent human-modified waterways. Children start with the ramp to launch Tuna on his way, culminating with a safe migration to the ocean tile at the end.

Industrial tiles include a manhole, dam, and a redirector, all of which are painted blue to stand out as human-made interventions. These tiles are intended to obstruct the toy eel’s path, visually and physically representing how such modifications challenge eel migration. Children experience this through trial and error as they attempt to reroute the eel.

The Tiles have six sides, and every face with a river exit and entry has magnets allowing it to attach to other pieces adjacent. Some paths may not be feasible due to urban man-made tiles acting as a barrier or simply becoming a difficult obstacle to navigate. While the more natural pieces allow for an easy flow of water, enabling Tuna to flow seamlessly through. Children can create their own narratives to drive their intentions for changing the river paths, and the consequences of their actions, such as making the windiest path possible or creating the fastest and strongest flow of water. Natural materials, such as rocks, mud, and sticks, can also be added to the tiles to adjust the water flow.

Wild Wetlands is made from a mix of materials: New Zealand recycled pine, PLA and neodymium magnets, finished with a polyurethane varnish to ensure durability in outdoor, wet environments. Neodymium magnets were chosen for their strength and are intentionally left visible to make connections between two tiles intuitive. Each tile is scaled larger to allow interactive play for between 1–5 players. More tiles can be added to create endless opportunities for Tuna to explore.