Hackathon Project Portfolio: Capital Quest

Introduction

Capital Quest is an innovative AI-powered educational game designed for middle school students to enhance their understanding of U.S. geography and history. Developed during the Marvel AI Hackathon, this project was created by Team Skadoosh, consisting of talented individuals: Sarah Nguyen, Julio Ramirez, Cameron Morales, Kamal Ramesh, and Sara Chong. The project secured 1st Place for its exceptional design, execution, and potential to transform learning experiences.

Hackathon Overview

• Event Name: Marvel AI Hackathon

• Organizer: Reality AI Lab

• Duration: 3 days

• Track Chosen: Generative AI for Education

• Result: 1st Place Winner

During the hackathon, our team focused on addressing a specific problem: making U.S. geography and history engaging and interactive for students in grades 6–8 through AI technology.

Target Audience: Students aged 11–14 (Grades 6–8)

The goal of Capital Quest: The Great US Adventure is to engage middle school students in an interactive learning experience about the United States' geography and culture. The game combines AI-powered learning with gamified interactions to make education fun, immersive, and effective.

Capital Quest features a variety of mini-games, interactive maps, and AI-learning chat sessions, all designed to spark curiosity and help students retain knowledge about the 50 states, their capitals, and unique cultural landmarks.

Key Features

1. Drag & Drop Interactive Map

   • Students engage with an intuitive map interface, reinforcing key geography concepts through hands-on exploration.

   • The drag-and-drop feature helps consolidate learning by matching states to their capitals and ensuring an immediate understanding of the material.

2. AI-Driven Chat

   • Meet your personal AI tutor, a virtual travel guide, and co-pilot in your educational journey.

   • The chatbot narrates cool facts about each state, including its state flower, animal, and cultural highlights, making learning dynamic and engaging.

   • Example: "Great job! I knew you could do it! Here are some cool facts about California: State Flower: Golden Poppy, State Animal: Grizzly Bear, Capital: Sacramento."

3. Leaderboard for Gamified Learning

   • Track your progress, challenge yourself, and compete with friends or classmates to climb the leaderboard.

   • Students earn points for completing challenges, answering quizzes correctly, and exploring new states.

Visual Highlights

• Drag & Drop Map Interaction: Helps students locate and identify states, ensuring they master key geography concepts.

  

  
  

• AI Tutor Interface: Brings facts about the U.S. to life with conversational storytelling and personalized insights.

  

  
  

• Class Leaderboard: A fun way to foster friendly competition and keep students motivated.

  

Team Collaboration

Wireframing and Voting

Our team created initial wireframes individually, followed by a dot-voting session to select the best ideas. This ensured a democratic and collaborative process. The winning concept integrated key features from all team members, creating a comprehensive and user-friendly prototype.

Technical Approach

As a product design team, we focused on conceptualizing and prototyping Capital Quest:

1. AI Integration: Designed an AI chatbot concept using NLP for state-specific storytelling.

2. Interactive Design: Created a clickable, drag-and-drop map interface for quizzes.

3. Personalization: Visualized adaptive learning flows for tailored difficulty levels.

4. Gamification: Designed point systems, badges, and leaderboards to boost engagement.

5. Testing & Feedback: Conducted mock usability tests to refine the prototype based on feedback.

Impact

For Students:

• Improved retention of U.S. geography and state capitals.

• Enhanced critical thinking and engagement through interactive storytelling.

For Educators:

• A ready-to-use tool for classroom learning.

• Insights into student performance and areas for improvement.

For Parents:

• A platform to track their child’s progress and encourage learning outside school.

Hackathon Achievements

• Winner of 1st Place at the Marvel AI Hackathon.

• Earned an invitation to collaborate with the Reality AI Lab Pro Luna Team for 3 months to further develop Capital Quest.

Explore our journey through the high-fidelity prototype and slide deck available on Figma:

• Capital Quest Prototype

• Slide Deck