Palenque: An interactive multimedia digital video interactive prototype for children

Abstract

The Palenque interactive multimedia digital video interactive prototype is based on themes, locations, and characters from The Second Voyage of the Mimi television show, which is being produced at Bank Street College. In the TV show, a cast of scientists and children explore the Yucatan's ancient Maya ruins and are introduced to the science of archeology. The Palenque prototype incorporates this theme to the extent that the user's experience is based on a virtual travel exploration of an ancient Maya site, Palenque, and on the perusal of a multimedia Palenque Museum database. One of our goals was to create a visually interesting database environment in which information in many formats could be browsed through spatially and thematically by children. In addition, we experimented with icon and window-based interface conventions that would make navigation around the video environment motivating and comprehensible for young users.