Spot Me If You Can
An interactive museum installation for children to discover leopards hidden in plain sight.
Project Overview
Spot Me If You Can was designed as a multi-sensory learning experience for children aged 8–12 in a children’s museum in Mumbai. It introduces young audiences to the idea that leopards live among us—often unseen—and that coexistence is both possible and necessary. The project brings together storytelling, interactivity, augmented reality, and UV-reactive mural painting to create an immersive exhibit rooted in curiosity, empathy, and playful learning.
Through a layered design process, the exhibit features a hand-painted mural, UV-based discovery, and AR-triggered narratives that connect real-world wildlife research with imaginative play.
The Making
Co-Design and Ideation
The project began by forming a panel of five local children in Mumbai. Through observation games, fact-based storytelling, and interactive sketching, the team discovered that the children were most excited by stories of animals in the wild—especially leopards. Their interest drove the direction of the project.
Research and Context
The exhibit draws on real data and expert interviews related to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, where leopards have adapted to live in close proximity to human populations. Often misunderstood, these animals become subjects of conflict due to lack of knowledge. Children in the city were largely unaware of their proximity to leopards and had little access to nuanced stories about them.
Installation Components
- Interactive Mural: Painted in acrylic and UV-reactive ink, the mural appears as a quiet, layered forest under regular lighting. Under UV light, hidden leopards, paw prints, and messages emerge—revealing how much goes unseen in our everyday surroundings. The UV light also highlighted important facts about leopard behavior and coexistence, making the mural an educational tool as well as a visual one.
- Leopard Narratives: Each hidden leopard corresponds to a real individual from SGNP:
- Augmented Reality (Adobe Aero): Each leopard’s location in the mural acts as a trigger for AR micro-narratives. Children and visitors could view these stories and listen to their narrations through tablets or phones, watching leopards move, hearing recorded stories, and experiencing the hidden layers of their city come to life. The AR added emotional depth and personalized interaction to the painted surface.
- Discovery Through UV Light: The exhibit used minimal torch-based interaction, encouraging children to engage closely and slowly with the mural. The focus was on quiet discovery, attention to detail, and pattern recognition—skills that mirror the patience needed in wildlife observation.
Why This Project Matters
Too often, children are taught to fear what they don’t understand. Spot Me If You Can bridges this gap by inviting curiosity and layered storytelling. The installation translates real ecological data into emotional experiences, transforming a passive visit into active learning.
In Indian cities like Mumbai, leopards already live among us. This project encourages children not just to acknowledge that, but to respect it, talk about it, and imagine what coexistence can look like. Through mural, motion, light, and story, it teaches the most important conservation tool of all: awareness.
