Brumble’s Journey: A VR Tale of City Insects

Brumble’s Journey is an educational VR experience designed to inspire young minds through exploration, storytelling, and immersive interaction. Developed during the third semester under Project 3: Discover Space and Time – Hidden Ventures Beyond the Spotlight, the project takes cues from the Senckenberg Naturmuseum’s exhibit, City Insects: Frankfurt’s Tiny Helpers.

Targeted at audiences aged 12 to 16, users start in a digitally rendered city park and are introduced to insect hotels—small wooden shelters for pollinators—that highlight how anyone can contribute to insect conservation. This initiates the journey into understanding and appreciating the often-overlooked urban insect world.

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 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 emphasizing coexistence and awareness in a light-hearted, engaging way.