Wiggle Room

Wiggle Room lets children create and explore a digital world through movement and self-expression, sparking creativity and imagination. Supported by Belfast 2024, the installation features a large LCD video wall with depth sensors that track users’ movements, translating them into a vibrant particle display—like a digital “ball pit.” 

Marked “hot spots” on the floor act as interactive buttons, triggering effects when stepped on. This innovative space merges physical and digital play, giving children control over an ever-changing, immersive experience.

The Wiggle Room was created to provide an interactive play space for children (5-11), blending movement with digital interaction. The brief challenged us to design an immersive environment that encouraged free play, creativity, and physical activity while reflecting children's ideas. The project was co-created with children, using free play in workshops to shape the design. The result was a digital immersive experience using body tracking to trigger animations and sounds in real time, merging physical and digital elements into a dynamic, child-led experience.

The Wiggle Room was created in Belfast as part of Belfast 2024, a cultural initiative promoting creativity and community engagement. Hosted at The MAC, a leading arts venue, it addressed the need for unstructured, imaginative play in response to increasing digital screen time and structured learning. Co-created with children, it merged physical movement with real-time digital interaction. In a city with a history of division, the project also fostered social inclusion, using play as a tool for creativity, connection, and innovation in public spaces.