Brumble’s Journey: A VR Tale of City Insects
A VR journey with Brumble the bee inspires young people to discover the vital roles that city insects play in our ecosystem.
A project by Jacopo Perilli, Lara Heß, Mutlu Yakubov, Antonela Matanović and Himanshu Dahiya
Supervised by Prof. Dr Frank Gabler and Prof. Philip Hausmeier
3rd semester, 2025
About the Project
Brumble’s Journey is an educational VR experience designed to inspire young minds through exploration, storytelling and immersive interaction. Developed during the third semester as part of Project 3: Discover Space and Time – Hidden Ventures Beyond the Spotlight, the project draws inspiration from the Senckenberg Naturmuseum’s exhibition, City Insects: Frankfurt’s Tiny Helpers.
Aimed at audiences aged 12 to 16, users begin in a digitally rendered city park and are introduced to insect hotels– smallwooden shelters for pollinators – which highlight how anyone can contribute to insect conservation. This marks the start of a journey towards understanding and appreciating the often-overlooked world of urban insects.
The experience quickly takes a whimsical turn when the user is magically shrunk by a butterfly, introducing them to Brumble, a warm and curious bee in need of help. With Brumble’s guidance and UV-sensitive bee vision, users help pollinate flowers and observe the ecosystem from an entirely new scale and perspective.
Once the pollination adventure is complete, the butterfly returns to restore the user to their full size—leaving them with new knowledge and empathy for the tiny creatures that sustain our environment. The experience is enhanced with voice-acted dialogues, enriching the narrative and emphasising coexistence and awareness in a light-hearted, engaging way.
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