Stroll Story.

How we reimagined walks for young explorers.

COLLABORATORS

Nilu Wu

WalkMassachusetts

COLLABORATORS

Nilu Wu

WalkMassachusetts

RECOGNITION

Collaborative research

ART + DESIGN AWARDS 2024 | Northeastern University

ART + DESIGN AWARDS 2024 Northeastern University

A Walk Becomes an Adventure

What if we could transform an ordinary walk into an interactive, story-driven journey?

Stroll Story is an experience that turns daily commutes into safe, guided, and gamified adventures for kids. By combining wayfinding, gamification, and storytelling, we help children navigate their surroundings in a way that builds confidence, independence, and engagement with the urban environment.

Current State

Children are natural explorers, but modern urban environments and parental concerns have limited their ability to navigate spaces independently.

Today’s children experience restricted mobility, reducing their confidence, engagement with surroundings, and opportunities for playful discovery.

How can we foster safe yet independent
spatial exploration for kids?

How can we foster safe yet independent spatial exploration for kids?

HIGH LEVEL DESIGN GOALS

Encourage safe and meaningful exploration of surroundings

Foster independence while ensuring parental peace of mind

Transform walking into an interactive and playful experience

Reimagining Walks through Storytelling

Instead of simply walking from point A to point B, children become explorers. They’re prompted to notice details, solve location-based clues, and document their discoveries—fostering a deeper connection with their surroundings.

Instead of simply walking from point A to point B, children become explorers. They’re prompted to notice details,

solve location-based clues, and document their discoveries—fostering a deeper connection with their surroundings.

Example prompts:

🌳 "Did you see that the leaves have turned red? Find the tallest tree in the park!"

🏡 "Look around! Can you find a house with a red door? Mark it on your map!"

🐦 "Listen closely—do you hear a bird? What sound is it making?"

This transforms a mundane routine into a world of discovery—all while ensuring kids stay on safe, pre-designed routes.

What we set out to solve

Safety & Independence

How can we help kids explore with autonomy while ensuring their security?

Engagement & Accessibility

How can we design navigation tools that are inclusive for all children?

Flexible Exploration

Can we allow children to choose their own adventure while staying within safe boundaries?

Community & Connection

How do we foster a sense of belonging in public spaces for children?

From Research to Design

Our approach was rooted in human-centered design, combining qualitative insights (parent interviews, child observations) with quantitative research (safety reports, urban planning data).

Site Focus📍

Site
Focus📍

Site Focus📍

Curley K-8 School, Jamaica Plain, Boston—a test environment rich with diverse communities and urban landscapes.

Target Audience 🎒

Target
Audience 🎒

Target Audience 🎒

Children (7-12 years), parents, and educators.

Safety Interventions🚦

Walking in groups, GPS-enabled tracking, and sensory-based navigation.

How Stroll Story Works

01

Interactive Routes

Children follow engaging, playful navigation prompts to guide them along their journey.

Gamified Exploration

Mini-missions, scavenger hunts, and challenges encourage observation and curiosity.

01

Interactive Routes

Children follow engaging, playful navigation prompts to guide them along their journey.

Gamified Exploration

Mini-missions, scavenger hunts, and challenges encourage observation and curiosity.

02

Parental Integration

Real-time updates and geofencing allow parents to ensure safety without restricting independence.

02

Parental Integration

Real-time updates and geofencing allow parents to ensure safety without restricting independence.

03

Community-Centered Design

WalkBoston organizes monthly pedestrian convoys, approved by educational institutions, to nearby child-friendly spots like parks, botanical gardens,

and hidden city gems.

WalkBoston organizes monthly pedestrian convoys, approved by educational institutions, to nearby child-friendly spots like parks, botanical gardens, and hidden city gems.

Interactions within the system

Interactions within
the system

Exploration areas by
Stroll Story

Exploration areas by Stroll Story

Exploration areas by
Stroll Story

School

Committee

School Committee

Parents at

home/ work

Parents at home/ work

Mapping Our First Steps- Curley K8 School

Mapping Our First Steps-
Curley K8 School

To guarantee that the school’s surroundings offered enough safe, engaging, and accessible spaces for exploration, we began by mapping out potential activity zones within a 15-minute walking radius of Curley K8 School.

These spaces naturally grouped into six categories: commercial hubs, residential neighborhoods, playgrounds, parks, gardens, and nature reserves—each offering unique opportunities for discovery and interaction.

Understanding the Landscape

Understanding
the Landscape

With safety as a core goal, we started exploring ways to build on existing community safety systems.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS)

A city-wide initiative that promotes safe walking and biking to school.

WalkMassachusetts

Efforts focused on reducing traffic incidents and making walking safer.

We Play

A program that integrates physical activity and play into daily routines.

Listening, Learning, and Refining

We conducted interviews, surveys, and peer reviews to understand how people interacted with their surroundings, challenged our assumptions, and identified potential challenges. Feedback from the community helped us refine our approach to better fit real-world needs.

SRTS X CATHY BRIGHT

Cathy Bright, a former collaborator with SRTS, met with us for a conversation, sharing insights from her past projects and experience working with SRTS. We introduced our project, walking her through our progress so far. In return, she offered invaluable advice, helping us refine our approach with her expertise.

Make the school surrounding more evident

Use colour and patterns on side walks or places where kids frequently travel

Make the school surrounding more evident

Use colour and patterns on side walks or places where kids frequently travel

Make the school surrounding more evident

Use colour and patterns on side walks or places where kids frequently travel

Figure out bus stops and drop-off stations next to school

Decide on specific points
of interests

Figure out bus stops and drop-off stations next to school

Decide on specific points
of interests

Figure out bus stops and drop-off stations next to school

Decide on specific points
of interests

Make sure that the intervention doesn't attract unnecessary people- Predators

Centre Street can easily become a high traffic spot

Make sure that the intervention doesn't attract unnecessary people- Predators

Centre Street can easily become a high traffic spot

Focus on an age group between 7-12 years

For Safety purpose - Think about travelling with family or a group of kids or with an adult

Focus on an age group between 7-12 years

For Safety purpose - Think about travelling with family or a group of kids or with an adult

SRTS X WalkMassachusetts

As we explored the Safe Routes to School presentation for Walk Massachusetts, we gained a clearer view of our stakeholders and saw how SRTS also champions walking as a primary mode of travel.

A key discovery was the walking bus—a structured, safe way for children to explore on foot. This concept aligned perfectly with our vision, reinforcing that movement isn’t just about transit but about discovery and interaction along the way.