Tangible User Interfaces for Children

Glenda Revelle
Sesame Workshop
One Lincoln Plaza
New York, NY 10023
glenda.revelle@sesameworkshop.org
Oren Zuckerman
MIT Media Lab
20 Ames Street, E15-120b
Cambridge, MA 02139
orenz@media.mit.edu

Allison Druin
University of Maryland
Human-Computer Interaction Lab
College Park, MD 20742
allisond@umiacs.umd.edu
Mark Bolas
USC School of Cinema-Television
Interactive Media Division
850 W. 34th Street, Lucas 310
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211
bolas@well.com

ABSTRACT
Tangible user interfaces, which provide interactivity using
real physical objects, hold enormous promise for children.
Exploring and manipulating physical objects is a key
component of young children’s learning. The educational
power of digital technology for children has typically been
limited by the fact that users explore and manipulate abstract
two-dimensional screen-based representations, and not real
physical objects. Embedding interactivity into physical
objects, therefore, allows the “best of both worlds” –
supporting traditional exploratory play with physical objects
that can be extended and enhanced by the interactive power
of digital technology. Participants in this SIG are invited to
share ideas regarding the design and development of tangible
interfaces, and to bring demos or slides/videos showing work
in this area. Participants will review as many examples as
time allows, and discuss the issues surrounding design and
development of such interfaces. A primary goal of this SIG
is to foster the development of a community of researchers
and practitioners who are focused on designing and
developing tangible interfaces for children.
Keywords
Tangible, User Interface, Design, Children, Toys, Play
ACM Classification
H5.2. User Interfaces: Input devices and strategies; Haptic
I/O
INTRODUCTION
The ability to use computer interfaces has typically served as
a gateway to the world of interactivity and the educational
power of digital computing. For young users, traditional
interface use is often developmentally inappropriate and can
be a stumbling block to interactive learning. Exploring and
manipulating physical objects is a key component of young
children’s world and of their learning. The educational
power of digital technology for children has typically been
limited by the fact that users explore and manipulate abstract
two-dimensional screen-based representations, and not real
physical objects. Young children can’t read text-based menu
selections or type in their responses on a keyboard. In
addition they are often unable to use a mouse or any of the
standard point-and-click devices. This inability is due to a
variety of developmental factors, including the lack of fine
motor control needed to use existing pointing devices, the
lack of cognitive understanding of the mapping between
controller use and what’s happening on screen, and the lack
of abstract representational skills necessary to understand
typical screen-based displays. (cf., Revelle & Strommen,
1990; Crook, 1992; Lane & Ziviani, 1997; Hourcade et al.,
2004; Revelle, 2004).
There are strong cognitive-developmental reasons why
interacting with task-appropriate physical objects is the best
learning environment for young children. Piaget and
developmental psychologists ever since have emphasized the
critical importance of manipulation of physical objects for
young children’s cognitive development (cf., Piaget, 1962;
Inhelder & Piaget, 1964). In addition, Vygotsky (1978)
emphasized the importance of play in facilitating child
development. The objects used in children’s play can include
anything that the child finds handy, such as sticks, rocks or
cardboard boxes, but often include objects especially
designed to be toys such as dolls, miniature cars and trucks,
blocks, and so on.
A promising new approach to interface design holds
enormous promise for bringing the educational power of
interactivity to the play and learning style of young children.
In recent years, a number of researchers have been working
on developing “tangible user interfaces” for interactive
experiences (Ishii & Ulmer, 1997; Resnick, 1998; Druin et al,
1999; Scarlatos & Landry, 2001; Zuckerman & Resnick,
2003; Montemayor et al., 2004). Tangible interfaces provide

Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).
CHI 2005, April 2–7, 2005, Portland, Oregon, USA.
ACM 1-59593-002-7/05/0004.
CHI 2005 | Special Interest Groups (SIGs) April 2-7 | Portland, Oregon, USA
2051