WooGu: Exploring an Embodied Tangible User Interface for Supporting Children to Learn Farm-to-Table Food Knowledge

Food is essential for human health, growth, and development. However, children need more learning materials and motivation to receive food literacy education or know the fundamental food processes from farm to table. In this work, we explored the design of a prototype named WooGu with tangible user interfaces (TUI) and embodied interactions, which aims to improve young children's food literacy. WooGu presents three design features: a cube displaying user interfaces, step-by-step tasks guiding children to learn food from farm to table, and hands-on props made by cardboard empowering embodied interactions. We evaluated WooGu with two families in a pilot test, and the findings suggested that WooGu provides children with the embodied experience of food production, improving their food literacy, logical thinking, and practical ability. This research contributed to the human-food interaction area and provided a novel way of learning food literacy for children through embodied interactions with WooGu.