WaWa Story: An Interactive Hand Puppet Theater

Bringing Parent-Child Interaction and Education to Life

Parents and teachers play a crucial role in a child's development, and the WaWa Story puppet theater provides an optimal platform for interaction. The puppet, designed with wool fabrics and expressive facial features, becomes a trusted friend to the child. The puppet's facial pocket is ingeniously designed to hold a smartphone, allowing for animated and real-time background image changes that bring the stories to life.

The packaging box itself serves as a performance stage for the puppet. Printed on corrugated cardboard, the box features story scene cards and transparent films that can be easily replaced to portray different stories and backgrounds. To further enhance the experience, an app-assisted box allows for the insertion of a tablet, which can identify spoken keywords and trigger dynamic background changes, providing immediate educational impact.

One of the strengths of WaWa Story lies in its ability to promote self-care and discipline in children. By incorporating storytelling into daily routines, children develop essential skills while enjoying the imaginative world of the puppet. The puppet changes costumes based on different characters, fostering diversity and character development as the story unfolds.

The WaWa Story project, which began in April 2017 and was completed in August 2018 in Taiwan, required extensive research and creative problem-solving. The challenge lay in seamlessly integrating smart devices with traditional puppets. The goal was to create an authentic and tangible experience for preschool children, allowing them to interact with a physical puppet rather than a plastic robot. The puppet's emotions are conveyed through its eyes and voices, while an oral identification system guides storytellers to present corresponding pictures on the tablet.

Recognized for its ingenuity and creativity, WaWa Story was awarded the Bronze A' Design Award in the Toys, Games, and Hobby Products category in 2019. This prestigious award honors designs that exemplify resourcefulness, technical skill, and a commitment to improving quality of life. WaWa Story's seamless integration of art, science, design, and technology truly makes it a standout creation.

With WaWa Story, the Institute for Information Industry has successfully created a unique and engaging hand puppet theater that bridges the gap between traditional storytelling and modern technology. By prioritizing the parent-child relationship and education, this innovative design encourages creativity, imagination, and meaningful interaction. WaWa Story is a testament to the power of design in enhancing the lives of children and their families.