Louvre Abu Dhabi is launching a mobile game to help children immerse themselves in the best of the museum's art.
Part treasure hunt and part educational storytelling, The Secret of the Dome Stars is a location-based game suitable for visitors aged six to 12. Through the game, players will be tasked to uncover and collect 12 stars, each connected to one artwork hidden in one of the museum's 12 galleries.
With the help of their digital guide Volpi, a friendly fox who is the guardian of the stars, they must solve puzzles and quizzes to find the stars through the provided clues and by looking at the artworks. The game aims to teach them more about the artworks as well as inspire them to foster a relationship with museums and history, Louvre Abu Dhabi said.
“This is how you make a museum relevant for the new generation and make the museum fun and not only a very serious place,” said Ugo Bertoni, the director for external affairs, outreach and cultural engagement at Louvre Abu Dhabi. “It's what we call gamification in a fun but serious way because all our gamification is scientifically, accurate, relevant, based on facts of art history and it's a way to engage with kids of different ages.”
While learning about art and history, the game is also a means for children to learn how to look at art critically. “Looking at the artworks is important because we are a school for how to look at art – this is very important," Bertoni added. "But we also teach kids to look properly, with their own eyes, not only through a screen, as that is key to solving these quiz games and puzzles."
The Secret of the Dome Stars is a free web-based app, accessible via a link or QR code in the museum and can be used on a smartphone or tablet device with no need for app store downloads. Available in Arabic, English and French, the game was also tested in its early stages of development by 19 families and 34 children to ensure it was immersive and exciting.
“Here is a way to bring families to the museum, it’s something that they can do as a family activity, or kids can do it on their own,” said Bertoni. “It goes back to the idea of the intergenerational element of the museum, to make sure its a place for people across generation to come together.”
Featuring a global selection of 600 masterpieces, the permanent galleries at Louvre Abu Dhabi tell a chronological history of human expression and creativity through 12 thematic chapters.
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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
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Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
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