PIONEERSLAB
Interactive Futures (Winter)
Systems That Come Alive
Interactive Futures takes teens deeper into the world of systems and interaction design. This is the term where they learn Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) — abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism — the same principles that professional developers use to manage complexity. They also bring characters to life through animation, exploring how movement, states, and interactions transform static designs into living systems.
But this isn’t only about technical skill. Students also practice inclusive design by embedding accessibility features, learning that great technology works for everyone. They experiment with version control, collaboration, and debugging — habits that mirror real-world workflows. By the end of Winter, your teen will have built a multi-room interactive game, complete with animated characters and accessibility options, showing them that their ideas can move, respond, and connect.
What makes it fun
Animate a character and see it move across the screen
Expand their game into multiple rooms with new interactions
Collaborate on playtesting and see how peers approach design
What makes it enriching
Teaches object-oriented programming, the same approach professionals use.
Builds empathy by introducing accessibility features for all players.
Develops habits of version control, organization, and peer review.
Learning outcomes
Apply Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles — abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
Use state machines to manage character behaviour and interactions
Rig and animate a character in Blender, understanding skeletons, weights, and interpolation curves.
Practice version control using GitHub Desktop (commits, pushes, managing history)
Apply an Accessibility Checklist (colour contrast, readable text, alternate input modes).
Term & EXPO
Multi-room Python adventure with animated characters
Features accessibility modes (text size, contrast, color-blind options)
Winter Term
450