Our goal at the museum was simple – to create a series of videos that bring to life tips that parents can use to enhance the learning that happens when their kids play.

We wanted to do something different than we have in the past. We wanted to get away from a talking head-type video and get more creative and more engaging.

Enter Pixel Farm, an award-winning creative studio based in Minneapolis. We reached out to Pixel Farm to gauge their interest in this project. A team from Pixel Farm came to the museum to play, came up with an unconventional yet intriguing concept and off we went.

Pixel Farm went above and beyond. Their team multiplied the museum’s budget by donating significant time and energy. They lent their creativity, smarts and problem solving to the entire project. We think they all must’ve played a lot as kids.

5 Questions with the Creative Director

We recently asked Jeff Stevens, creative director at Pixel Farm, five questions about his approach to these videos.

• Why did you want to work on these videos for the museum?I saw an opportunity to make something fun, honestly. It’s not every day that we get to create work like this. In addition, the museum is relevant to me in this moment of my life because I have two young children and the message we are delivering resonates with me.

• How did you come up with the concept for the videos?I’ve been fascinated with this particular animation/art style lately – these personified contraptions – and felt it could be a great delivery mechanism for the stories we were about to tell.  These videos are visually interesting to all ages too – they take a playful, childlike style and wrap that around a more complex message meant for adults. And they do so in an unexpected yet delightful and memorable manner.

• Do you have a favorite one?I’m a big fan of “Mistakes.” The way the laser beam races through the sculpture, bouncing off surfaces with its playful sounds is just a joy to watch over and over.

• What was your favorite part of working on this project?The process was one of the best parts of this project. We took a field trip to the museum and experienced every facet of it. We observed children playing and interacting with everything. We looked at the design of the museum itself and documented common themes, materials, textures and colors. And we took lots of pictures. We then put those on a white wall and played a big game of mix-n-match. We started to see opportunities for narratives as we combined various components of the museum into new, multi-faceted contraptions. Like a bunch of kids in a giant toy box, we built storytelling machines together.

• Anything else you’d like to add? I want to make one of the contraptions in real life now!