Experience science with Xbrick® and the Xplore app • Xbrick®

Imagine being able to build a rocket from existing furniture during a small workshop in a museum and fly to Mars using augmented reality – would you be interested?

Science centers, museums, and maker spaces are no longer just exhibition spaces – they are hotspots for creative minds, inspiring explorers, and curious researchers of all ages. Here, science becomes tangible, tangible, and above all, exciting. But what makes these spaces truly future-proof?

We are convinced that combining flexible furnishings with modern technology can provide new impetus for the design of exhibition spaces. Imagine a space that can be flexibly adapted to different ideas and projects – complemented by digital tools that bring content to life. Xbrick®, our modular furniture system, and the Xplore app with augmented reality functionality contribute to this by expanding design options and supporting creative processes.

Xbrick® is a flexible piece of furniture that, thanks to its intuitive handling—lightweight, quiet, stackable, and combinable—enables a variety of spatial arrangements. It is suitable not only as a functional element but also as a learning building block that trains spatial awareness and supports creative processes. Combined with the Xplore app, it also opens up the possibility of playfully integrating augmented reality content into learning and exhibition spaces. For example, scenarios such as the construction of a Mars base or digital satellite simulations can be immersed in the experience—prompting collaborative work, research-based learning, and new forms of scientific communication.

Challenges in Equipping Maker Spaces and Workshop Rooms

Maker spaces and workshop rooms in science centers, museums, and planetariums are places designed to foster creativity, innovation, and collaborative learning. These dynamic environments place high demands on their furnishings. Furniture provides a practical tool for makers, as it should not only be functional and flexible but can also create an inspiring atmosphere.

Here are the key challenges in equipping such spaces in detail:

Appeal to a Diverse Audience

Maker spaces cater to a wide range of audiences – from curious school classes and families with young children to specialized workshops for adults or professionals.

Furniture adaptability: Furniture should be designed to meet the needs of different age groups and various physical needs.
Comfort and ergonomics: While children need safe, easily accessible work surfaces, adults place more value on ergonomic, mobile seating.
Versatile uses: Tables and seating should be suitable for both intensive work and informal discussions and events.

Flexible Use for Different Formats

The variety of events in these spaces – from creative craft workshops to interactive lectures and presentations – requires furniture that can be easily rearranged.

Quick Reconfiguration: Furniture that is stackable, easy to move, or modular allows for quick transitions between different usage formats.
Compactness and Mobility: Flexible furniture elements that are not in use should be stored in a space-saving manner or be easily transported.
Dynamic Room Design: The furniture should promote a creative and open atmosphere that allows for the free arrangement of elements – e.g., for group work or presentations. Xbrick® is intuitive to use, easy to handle for everyone, and inspiring and motivating to use thanks to its variety of colors and modular design.

Xbrick®: Our modular furniture system for inspiring spaces

Xbrick® is a furniture system that is flexible, versatile, and perfectly adapted to the requirements of modern learning and workshop environments. Whether in science centers, maker spaces, or interactive exhibitions, Xbrick® offers countless possibilities for creatively and sustainably designing spaces.

What makes Xbrick® special?

Xbrick® is more than just a piece of furniture—it’s a solution for dynamic spaces that are constantly evolving. The modules are lightweight, robust, and designed to be easily stacked, combined, and adapted. They provide a foundation that’s as adaptable as the ideas that emerge in your space.

Possible uses of Xbrick®

Our Xbrick®s are truly multi-talented and can be used in a variety of ways:

Workshop tables and seating: Whether as a stable table base, a comfortable bench, or a practical pedestal – Xbrick® adapts to your needs.
Stationary and mobile solutions: The modules are light enough to be quickly rearranged, yet robust enough to withstand intensive use.
Interactive installations: In combination with our Xplore app, Xbrick® becomes a platform for digital experiences, creating a unique combination of physical space and augmented reality.

Sustainability that Convinces

We care not only about functionality, but also about the world around us. Xbrick® is made from single-source, 100% recyclable expanded polypropylene (EPP) – a material that consists of 96% air. This makes Xbrick® not only particularly lightweight, but also fully recyclable at the end of its long product life cycle.

At wd3, we are convinced that sustainability is reflected not only in the material, but also in its service life and versatility. Xbrick® is durable, functional, and adapts flexibly to different situations and needs – ideal for educational institutions, museums, or science centers where robust, adaptable solutions are required.

Xbrick® is produced in southern Germany – with short delivery routes, reliable regional partners, and socially responsible assembly in the Remstal workshops. This is how we shape sustainability along the entire value chain – transparent, local, and people-centered.

Xbrick® for your room?

With Xbrick®, you can create spaces as flexible as your ideas. The combination of ease of use, modular versatility, and sustainable design makes our furniture system the ideal solution for modern and interactive learning environments.

The Xplore App: Augmented Reality Meets Xbrick®

The Xplore App expands the capabilities of Xbrick® through digital experiences. Together, they create an innovative concept that seamlessly connects the physical and digital worlds.

How does the combination of Xbrick® and the Xplore app work?

AR markers on Xbrick® modules: Each Xbrick® module is recognized by the Xplore app. As soon as an Xbrick® is scanned, the app detects where and how it is positioned in the room and displays digital content on the screen.
Interactive AR experiences: Like an escape room, tasks are solved in the app using (physical) Xbrick®s. For example, the planets of our solar system are displayed on the Xbrick®, which must then be arranged in the correct order. This brings a lot of physical movement into the game, and the sequence becomes memorized in a completely different way. With multiple players, a great deal of cooperation, communication, and spatial orientation are also required.
Combination of physical movement, haptic interaction, and digital content: The tasks promote spatial thinking, teamwork, and motor skills and offer a playful introduction to augmented reality – players remain active and engage with the real space despite the digital world. Xplore thus combines physical play with Xbrick® with the digital world – always in motion and with lots of fun.

Xplore App Features in Detail

Education and Gamification: The app imparts knowledge in a playful and interactive way. Young target groups in particular are addressed through the combination of physical elements and digital experiences. Diverse Topics: The app focuses on the challenge of building a rocket with Xbrick® and establishing a base on Mars. This is complemented by additional tasks and functions: Depending on the distance between the assembled Xbrick®, animals are displayed in the appropriate size. There is also a simple measuring function that displays the distance, surface area, and volume of the scanned Xbrick®. This leaves room for individual questions. Easy to Use: The app’s user interface is intuitive. Both employees and visitors can use the app without prior knowledge. It can be installed on any iPad via AppStore and then works even without a Wi-Fi connection.

Practical Example: “Experience Space Travel” Workshop – Understanding Science Through Play

In this workshop, participants will immerse themselves interactively in the topic of space travel. The combination of the modular Xbrick® elements and the Xplore app creates a dynamic learning space in which physical construction and digital augmented reality experiences intertwine. Complex scientific content can thus be experienced in a creative, practical, and playful way.

Workshop Schedule

• Discovering the Solar System

Each Xbrick® represents a planet, which is made visible via augmented reality. The task: Arrange the planets in the correct order in space – an introduction to systematic thinking and spatial work.

• Journey to Mars

In the next step, participants build a rocket together – six Xbrick® modules represent different rocket parts. After successful construction and the completion of further tasks, the virtual flight to Mars begins. Along the way, exciting facts about space are taught.

• Building a Mars Station

Once they reach their destination, they must construct a base camp – with antennas at the correct height or solar panels precisely aligned. Here, too, construction is carried out using the Xbrick® modules, supported by digital clues via AR.

1. Digital Experience: Augmented Reality in Action

The Xplore app expands the physical gameplay with digital content – planets, spaceships, and information appear directly in the space.

2. Creative Exchange: Teamwork for Science

The tasks require cooperation, communication, and creative thinking. The workshop promotes collaborative problem-solving and makes science an active experience.

The Workshop Schedule

• Discovering the Solar System

Each Xbrick® represents a planet, which is made visible via augmented reality. The task: Arrange the planets in the correct order in space – an introduction to systematic thinking and spatial work.

• Journey to Mars

In the next step, the participants build a rocket together – six Xbrick® modules represent different rocket parts. After successful assembly and the completion of further tasks, the virtual flight to Mars begins. Exciting facts about space are taught along the way.

• Building a Mars Station

Once they reach their destination, they must construct a base camp – with antennas at the correct height or solar panels precisely aligned. Here, too, the construction is carried out using the Xbrick® modules, supported by digital hints via AR.

1. Digital Experience: Augmented Reality in Action

The Xplore app enhances the physical gameplay with digital content – planets, spaceships, and information appear directly in the room.

2. Creative Exchange: Teamwork for Science

The tasks require cooperation, communication, and creative thinking. The workshop promotes collaborative problem-solving and makes science an active experience.

Bringing science to life – together with Xbrick® and the Xplore app

We see our work as an invitation to further development, collaboration, and co-creation.

Whether in the classroom, in the maker space, or in the museum – our modules and tools offer inspiration for how analog and digital elements can be meaningfully combined. Not everything is perfect yet, but that’s precisely why now is the right time to try out new things together.

If you’re interested in working with us to further develop our ideas, we look forward to hearing from you. Bringing science to life means staying curious, being open-minded, and shaping things together.