Gamification at Cornwall Park
Gamification is a powerful tool to add to your box or idea hoard and is perfect for engaging visitors at parks, museums, and heritage sites. There are many exciting digital solutions, but low-tech gamification can be just as effective in enhancing the stories you tell. At Huia Lodge Discovery Hub in Cornwall Park, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, we often use this tool to create interactive and memorable visitor experiences.
Huia Lodge
What is gamification?
Gamification is the inclusion of game elements into a non-game setting. This can be anything from completing a task and collecting a prize to talking a walk and catching a Pokémon in Pokémon Go. Think rewards, challenges and interactive storytelling that encourages visitors to explore in new and meaningful ways.
These trading cards are a spring school holiday activity. Visitors attempt a scavenger hunt and receive cards as a prize.
How do we use it at Cornwall Park?
From inviting visitors to step inside with chalk obstacle courses to encouraging exploration through trails or scavenger hunts, we've found gamification to be one of the best ways to educate and engage with our visitors. We love that gamification fosters curiosity and lasting connections, enabling our diverse audience to connect with the stories of the park. One of our most recent and successful experiences was Cornwall Park – the game.
Visitors love discovering more about the park through trails. This trail included a fun photo opportunity for people born at Cornwall Hospital.
Cornwall Park - the game
Each year, we explore an element of the park's heritage as an exhibition to coincide with Auckland's Heritage Festival. These exhibitions have always been popular with our older demographic. We want to engage our younger audiences with Cornwall Park's history, so we have started including elements of gamification.
In 2024, we decided to celebrate our recreational heritage. We delved into the ideas hoard and took inspiration from the ExhibiTricks newsletter to create a life-size board game. It made for a very engaging timeline and was the perfect solution to display snippets of over 100 years of recreational heritage.
Recreation Heritage Game and Exhibition
The team curated a collection of photos, stories and facts, along with recreation-themed prompts that would speed up or slow down gameplay. The game was designed with longevity in mind and intended to have a life beyond the exhibition outside in the park at future events.
Visitors of all ages enjoyed playing the game with their friends and even with strangers, proving that low-tech gamification can be an excellent conversation starter and a catalyst for community engagement. We noticed dwell time increased and meaningful conversations between visitors and team members. We even received requests for a version to play at home.
Recreation Heritage Game
Lessons learned
Game board design: Using an extra-large fabric banner worked well, but selecting a less absorbent fabric would improve durability. Provider- Flag Seller.
Floor adhesive: Norton Bear double-sided carpet tape adhered well to tiled floors and was easily removable. Provider- Bunnings.
Dice & game tokens: Oversized materials, such as the giant dot dice and handmade weighted tokens, added to the tactile experience and withstood heavy use from visitors of all ages. Provider- Everyday Educaid and Rosie Coker.
Recreation Heritage Game tokens and dice
Why low-tech gamification works
Low-tech gamification provides a tactile, communal experience that invites visitors to explore and learn in a relaxed, informal setting. It transforms an observational experience to a memorable participatory one. This approach not only enhances the visitor experience but also encourages repeat visits and deeper involvement with the stories told or facts conveyed.
Cornwall Park
About Cornwall Park
Cornwall Park is Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's largest urban park, nestled under the iconic Maungakiekie, One Tree Hill. It is 425 acres of living history, weaving together heritage, ecology, agriculture, wildlife, a working farm and community within its lush landscape. Huia Lodge Discovery Hub is the park's community engagement hub. We welcome visitors to come and learn more about Cornwall Park and its unique history and to participate in our free events.
References
Çetin, Özgül & Erbay, Fethiye. (2021). Gamification Practices in Museums. Journal of Tourismology. 7. 265-276. 10.26650/jot.2021.7.2.1017009.
Richardson, J. (2022, February 3). How can games in museums enhance visitor experience? MuseumNext. https://www.museumnext.com/article/how-can-games-in-museums-enhance-visitor-experience/
Orselli, P. (n.d.). Playing at scale. ExhibiTricks: The Museum Exhibit Design Blog. https://blog.orselli.net/2024/11/playing-at-scale.html
All images in this article belong to Cornwall Park Trust