Jam3 Helps Tackle Climate Change with an AR App for Kids

The latest UN Climate Change Report states that climate change is intensifying. And with global leaders joining forces in Glasgow this week to kickoff The COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference, it's become more important than ever to educate the next generation about the impact climate change will potentially have on the future.

To help with this mission, Jam3, a Design and Experience Agency, has partnered with the Canada Media Fund to launch a native AR app for kids everywhere called Wild Cities. Wild Cities uses interactive narrated storylines and AR functionality to educate children on wildlife and plants, as well as address the issue of climate change in a digestible format.

The app was developed in collaboration with the country of Luxembourg and the City of Toronto as part of a global campaign to address climate change. The experience is led by an interactive, voice-triggered story in AR, featuring five chapters. The experience helps children uncover wildlife and vegetation that are found not only in Canada but around the world.

The story starts with nature, growth, and a variety of animals. Midway through the experience in chapter three, animals disappear and users are presented with pollution. They must help to clean the air and bring the animals back. The story approaches the subject of human impact on the environment and climate change in an easily-digestible way and lighter tone for kids to understand.

Wild Cities AR is a passion project for the entire Jam3 team. Starting with an initial concept back in 2019, the app has flourished into an interactive, educational adventure that all kids will enjoy. Many JamFam members have been involved in the project, from strategy, storyboard, script development, and concept artwork, to motion, UX, and 3D.

“Bringing awareness and educating the younger generation on climate change is close to our hearts, and being able to create an engaging experience utilizing our AR technology is powerful,” said Laura Cortes, Creative Director at Jam3. “Wild Cities AR has evolved into a labour of love from our company, and I cannot wait to present it to the world.”

Jam3 was awarded a grant from the Canada Media Fund that has supported the building of the app. Jam3 and their partners are promoting the app to teachers, universities, and parents of young children. Wild Cities AR is a useful digital tool to continue to educate children globally, despite the covid pandemic. The app will be featured in four languages - English, French, German, and Luxembourgish - and will be free to download on both the App Store and Google Play starting October 5th.

Jam3 has an impressive track record of creating timely, thought-provoking, interactive documentaries and experiences that engage and educate their audiences, such as the Cannes Lion award-winning Bear 71 VR. Most recently, Jam3 partnered with the National Film Board of Canada on an artful, digital experience that strived to help people process how life has changed since covid.

ABOUT JAM3: Jam3 is a Design and Experience Agency in Toronto, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Montevideo. We uncover relevance, purpose and innovation in everything we do. Together with the world’s top brands we launch new products and design platforms, bringing moving experiences to customers–digitally and beyond.

ABOUT CANADA MEDIA FUND: The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global digital environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Please visit cmf-fmc.ca.