Moment Factory, a leading global entertainment studio, collaborated with Mandai Wildlife Group to create and produce Curiosity Cove, Singapore’s largest indoor nature-inspired playscape designed for children aged three to twelve. Through a labyrinth of giant roots, climbable spider webs, immersive soundscapes, and responsive digital marshes, Curiosity Cove’s multisensory experience lets children lead their own imaginative adventures through nature-themed zones, moving like wildlife and seeing the world through their eyes.

Located within the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, operated by Mandai Wildlife Group, the new attraction adds an indoor dimension to the nature and wildlife destination. Complementing its outdoor wildlife parks, including the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, and River Wonders, it gives families the opportunity to continue their adventures year-round, rain or shine.

A dual mandate as lead experience designer and content producer

Mandai Wildlife Group appointed Moment Factory as lead experience designer and content producer for Curiosity Cove. Working closely with the Group’s project team and wildlife experts, Moment Factory’s end-to-end involvement helped shape the project’s DNA to create a seamless narrative experience from start to finish. Together with architectural and engineering collaborators, Moment Factory designed the 4,600-square-meter space with storytelling woven into every detail, turning the architecture itself into an active participant in the experience.

"Curiosity Cove began with Mandai Wildlife Group’s mission to spark children’s curiosity and empathy for the natural world. With that vision as our guide, our experiential education team assembled a group of creatives and specialists to design an immersive environment where play and learning naturally come together," says Moment Factory Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director, Sakchin Bessette. "Conceived as a permanent attraction, Curiosity Cove is a place where children of today and future generations can form lasting connections with the world around them, fulfilling a vision closely aligned with Moment Factory’s own. We’re proud to have collaborated to make it a reality."

A hypernatural playscape for young children

Grounded in science and elevated by imagination, Curiosity Cove recreates natural forms for exploration at an interpretive scale: roots become architectural volumes, webs form climbable structures, and terrain transforms into sculptural landscapes. This "hypernatural" approach invites young visitors to explore ecosystems through self-directed interaction, featuring scientifically accurate models reimagined in playful colors, complemented by an immersive layer of sound and music.

The result is a journey of discovery through more than thirty immersive elements across four ecosystems: Forestlands, Grasslands, Drylands, and Wetlands. Every environment is scaled to the size and rhythms of children, encouraging climbing, crawling, and touching. In the Wetlands, for example, visitors engage with water flow and migration and learn how water connects ecosystems and supports all living things. One of the key features in this zone is the Reef Retreat, where children discover species that live deep underwater and learn about their defense mechanisms. In the Grasslands, nature comes alive with responsive technology that fuses physical scenography with digital layers. From large-scale atmospheric elements that shape the sensory experience to interactive features and tactile details, each moment is designed to surprise, inviting wonder and discovery.

To ensure maximum resonance, Moment Factory conducted user-experience testing with children from the target age group throughout the entire creative process. These insights informed the design of the space, optimizing circulation to foster collaborative play and guiding the selection of textures, sensory cues, and interaction points to ensure the environment feels intuitive and inviting to young audiences.

“Phygital” integration and inclusive design

Technology, from sensors, projectors and lighting, to spatialized sound, is thoughtfully embedded into architectural elements at Curiosity Cove, creating a unified “phygital” environment where movement awakens hidden life or alters light and sound. Imagined as a truly inclusive space, the layout ensures that every child, regardless of ability or sensitivity, finds space for adventure, quiet, and reflection. Meanwhile, varied levels of engagement allow the entire family to explore the rich, multisensory environment at their own pace.

Overseeing the entire project ecosystem, from spatial strategy and material palettes to interactive media, Moment Factory delivered a cohesive, story-driven environment where architecture and technology converge in support of experiential learning. As demand for immersive educational environments continues to grow, the studio builds on years of expertise and a series of recent innovative projects in the field, including The Perpetual Story Machine for the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD), immersive experiences at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and its collaboration with Science World (SW) in Vancouver, creating spaces where learning unfolds through shared, meaningful experiences.