ADVERTORIAL • August 2022

New in the lounges: Osmo Kids Zones

Off on a family holiday? We’ve teamed up with Osmo, the hands-on learning tool for kids that fuses innovative tech with tactile exploration. With customised Osmo Kids Zones in select lounges at Heathrow and Gatwick this summer, even the youngest travellers are sure to get off to a flying start

Class act

As any parent knows, managing your kids’ screen time can be a minefield. But imagine if they could play a game on their tablets that’s oodles of fun but also fosters learning. Welcome to Osmo, the unique hands-on educational tool that merges digital technology with physical interaction.

The games cover a range of subjects – from maths and literacy to art, geography and physics – for pre-schoolers through to 12 years, with animations and activities designed to develop verbal reasoning and sequential and spatial skills through meaningful play.

School of thought

Listen up at the back: this isn’t just about growing academic potential. Whether your little ones are tackling brain teasers, solving visual puzzles, animating their drawings or building coding blocks, all the games have been created with the help of child development experts and are intended to cultivate a range of social-emotional skills. Self-awareness, listening to others, resolving conflicts, decision-making… Osmo teaches players the full 360°.

Happy days

Osmo is excellent fun. Each of the games will capture young imaginations from the get-go with playful names, jaunty graphics and colourful tactile pieces. Will it be Detective Agency, where kids travel to famous cities, inspect clues with their magnifying glass and learn about different cultures around the world? Or perhaps Pizza Co, where they master addition, subtraction and fractions while running their own pizza shop? Either way, your child will be enthralled. Anyone fancy a slice?

Where the Learning Clicks

Osmo Educational Games for Kids

Builder upper

When it comes to facing new situations and tackling challenges, children can sometimes need a self-belief boost. Osmo has been designed to help build confidence in learning – and in life. The games are self-guided, and youngsters can play at their own pace, so there are no stressful time limits. And while the more you succeed the more challenging it gets (Osmo is all about adaptive learning), there are no wrong answers.

Just as in the real world, the key lesson here is that there is always more than one way to solve a problem.

Child’s play

Setting up and playing Osmo is as easy as ABC, whether you’re at home or on holiday (once you’ve downloaded the app, you don’t need the internet). Place your iPad or Fire tablet in the Osmo base, secure the Osmo reflector on top of the tablet – this is the whizzy bit that enables the computer vision system, detecting movement and object placement – ensure you have the correct pieces for your chosen digital game and let the STEAM adventure begin.

Game time

Throughout the summer, young travellers can play Osmo in six Kids Zones across British Airways lounges: Heathrow’s Galleries Club Lounge South and Galleries Club Lounge North in Terminal 5; the Galleries First Lounge and Galleries Club Lounge in Terminal 3; and the Club Lounge at London Gatwick. With two iPads per zone and no adult supervision required (Osmo’s brand ambassadors are on hand at select times to teach little ones how to play), kids will be having fun learning while you’ll be getting some peace and quiet as you wait to board your flight.