Educational and Interactive Installations and Dioramas
We wanted to design the installations and dioramas for the Beaver’s House Visitor Center to offer a captivating, fun, and educational experience. Through a variety of animations and mechanical installations designed to engage both children and adults, you can discover the stories of beavers, their role in the ecosystem, and important environmental information.

The first time I saw beavers was a year ago. Real beavers… I was on vacation with my kids near Făgăraș, and we arrived at Sâmbăta. While searching on my phone, I saw someone had posted photos of the Builder Beavers from the Olt River. When we arrived, although it was night, we went to see them because my kids told me they are nocturnal and we wouldn’t have any chance during the day. We drove slowly along a road by a canal of the Olt and saw two beavers. Very cute. But I had no idea that a month later we would meet with the Carpathia Foundation to discuss this project. That was the beginning.

When I arrived in Rucăr and saw the house and this big room, I closed my eyes for a moment and thought, how can we teleport people into a scene like a large natural oasis, offering them an imaginative journey through forests, waters, and marshes? Like through the eyes of a beaver. That’s how we decided to create a very long diorama, a large panorama. Practically, it consists of overlapping layers with various degrees of transparency and detail, creating a complex landscape, like a large shadow play where you can interact with silhouettes and movements. We made them mechanical so you can touch and get close to them. Then we added a lot of information, structured into stories to make them easy to understand and exciting. It’s like an interactive documentary. The stories gained an extra charm from the films and illustrations by Vână Studio – Constantin Goagea, project coordinator from Zeppelin Design.

The special animations, developed in collaboration with Vâna Animations, depict the daily activities of beavers, their complex habitats, and their essential role in the ecosystem through relatable characters – a curious child and a storyteller.

This project was like a breath of play. That’s how we envisioned it from the start when we were invited to work on it. We imagined how the space would be, how the people who see it would be, and how we wanted the animation to feel in that space. We knew we wanted it to be like an illustrated book for children and adults, the kind my child has and we all devour at the office. A book that moves and lets you imprint the information visually, but also with a playful feeling. For the whole team, this meant stepping out of our comfort zone, a challenge we set for ourselves, said Anca Manolache, Project Lead, Vâna Animation.

Community and Sustainable Development
Constructed by the Conservation Carpathia Foundation with support from the European Commission’s LIFE+ program and the Arcadia Foundation, the Beaver’s House Visitor Center aims to become a major tourist attraction. It contributes to the sustainable development of the local community and serves as an environmental education space for children and young people.

Through this initiative, the Beaver’s House Visitor Center, with our carefully designed exhibits, not only highlights the ecological importance of beavers but also fosters a deeper appreciation for conservation efforts and the natural world among its visitors.