What’s The Secret?

3M, TPT, and ICONOS

Talk Bee Language!

"Newton’s Apple" was a national Emmy award winning children’s science television series created by TPT: Twin Cities Public Television.

Our team at ICONOS partnered with TPT and 3M Learning Software to re-imagine the stories and video assets of "Newton’s Apple" as a series of interactive CD-ROM publications, entitled "What’s the Secret?"

We built on the core ideas of the show, presenting a variety of real-world science concepts from a kid’s perspective – and we expanded with interactive explorations, tours, and games that simulated real word conditions.

Three volumes were created and distributed to the public. The 3-year project included a $1.5 million dollar budget and an extended team of 40 people.

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MY ROLES
- Project Co-Leader
- Senior UX/UI Designer
- Content Development
- Software Development

KEY BUSINESS GOALS
- Use video and concepts from the television show.
- Expand concepts with interactive experiences.
- Create a style and personality that reflects the show.

KEY USER GOALS
- Identify with Isaac Newton and his friends.
- Directly manipulate ideas and simulations to see results.
- Be excited and motivated to explore all interactions.

RESULTS
- The CD series was highly praised in press reviews.
- It has received more than 25 awards for children’s education.

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LINKS

Press Reaction
Awards Received

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EXTERNAL LINKS

Newton’s Apple at Wikipedia
Newton's Apple Video Archive
Bee “Waggle Dance”
TPT
3M United States

The home page for each volume features an illustrated collage to represent its main topics. Each part animates, and links the user to its related topic.

This simulation demonstrates how bees use the “waggle dance” to communicate.

As with many “What’s The Secret?” interactions, this simulation offers two views of the same concept to increase understanding.
- Position the sun and flowers to see how the bee will dance.
- Or control the bee’s dance to correctly send your bees to the flowers.

“What’s The Secret?” visualizes physical concepts. Here are 2 examples:
- See how a sound wave affects the molecules of air, water, and steel.
- Or experiment with momentum on a roller coaster.

Travel to the Arctic with Will Steger and his team. Learn how to pack a dog sled. Understand the problems they faced.

“What’s The Secret?” includes both physical and biological concepts.
1. Use pitch and speed controls to fly an airplane over a mountain range. Don’t crash!
2. Travel through a 3D heart. See how blood flows and valves operate.

As you explore, you can collect “patches” in your “patch pak”. They are hidden in each interaction. Can you collect them all? Each patch opens a game, puzzle, or other activity inside the pak.

Connect with Newt (a young Isaac Newton) and his friends as you travel through the interactions. They join you to guide, react, and have fun!

I created this map to show the top-level architecture of What’s the Secret?. Each topic has 2 or 3 related concepts with supporting sidebars, experiments, and health connections. Video, Newt Notes, and Timelines provide context for each topic. The entire volume is supported with “patch pak” rewards and a user note pad.