We were tasked to create an experience to celebrate the new pollinator garden in the Penn State Arboretum, with the goal of this experience is to bring community members to see the new garden and excite them about this addition.

When we toured the garden, we were fascinated by the monarch butterflies and felt inspired. From here, we sat down and brainstormed ways to get the community excited and settled on the idea of creating a multifaceted experience that targets toddlers and preschoolers. We viewed this as an opportunity to target a young demographic as well as create a fun, educational experience.

At the core of our solution if the children’s book, “The Monarch’s Journey,” which reflects the life cycle of a butterfly and is made specifically for the arboretum experience. Elements from this book are represented in social media posts, e-commerce, posters, and an immersive tunnel located at one of the entrances to the pollinator garden.

Overall, the project was very successful. We conducted user testing and children who were read the story were excited and were engaging with the characters by pointing. The project was also selected to be showcased in the arboretum in the spring of 2022. They hung posters, had the children’s book available to read, and posted one the social media posts we created.