Pick-a-Bone

red dot
red dot award: design concept 2007

design:
Flora Mitjavile	Rui Liu

Pick-a-Bone is a fun, hands-on genetic modification game that enables children to understand the structure of vertebrates through creative manipulation.
 
 
Educational games concerning bones commonly focus on the human skeleton. Many of the more recent versions present dinosaurs, dragons and other types of mythical creatures. But most children still seem to have a very shallow knowledge of the core structure of the vertebrate body.
       
Pick-a-Bone focuses on all five classes of vertebrates, and clearly displays their structural similarities, as well as their very distinct shapes. Each player starts with a vertebrate: reptile, mammal, bird, fish or amphibian. The aim is to create your own mixed creature: a mix of all five vertebrate classes! This goal can only be reached through a series of interactions and exchanges with the other players, which requires enhanced communication and negotiation skills.
       
The process of manipulating, deconstructing, modifying and recomposing is expected to help children and their families to understand the core spinal structure in a vertebrate body. The game itself has a flexible configuration that encourages inventiveness and imaginative play. With special spine dices, trivia question cards, and infinite possibilities in skeletal creations, Pick-a-Bone can be used in various ways. It was designed for a broad age range, so that the whole family can have fun playing and learning from it!