Why Localnauts Exists

It all started with a kids' birthday party – or rather, with getting it ready.

I was helping a friend who was preparing a scavenger hunt for the children: a printable one, a PDF off the internet. We spent hours cutting things out and crafting. At some point she said: a shame, really, that it has no connection to the place we're actually in – how lovely it would be if the local, everything right outside the front door, became part of a scavenger hunt like this. That thought wouldn't let go of me.

I'm a walker. I like to wander through my Kiez with open eyes. And at some point I thought: there are so many great stories right here. And there probably are everywhere – local stories that want to be told. So why not put exactly those into a format like a scavenger hunt? That was the initial idea. (Kiez = Berlin slang for neighbourhood.)

Why me of all people

My path is not a straight line. I studied social work and worked for many years as a social educator. Then the cultural sector came in – as a cultural manager and as an artist, musician, DJ; that has never stopped since and I still do it today. Later I was a project and quality manager in education, and during that time I also taught at university.

I had wanted to become self-employed for a long time and bring all of this together. One thing was clear to me: I did not want to show up as 'the educator'. I no longer see myself in that role. I am quite critical of power and keep asking myself: what do we actually teach children – and how? At the same time I know from the artistic side of my life how important it is to me to express myself freely and stay creative. For me that never went together with prescribed learning and chalk-and-talk. In Localnauts, suddenly everything came together.

Because I'm convinced: if you want to learn something new, it should be fun. So – why not as a game?

How an idea became a game

Stories are lived by people. How lovely would it be, I thought, if you could slip into someone's perspective – that's how the avatars came in. And because history is incredibly exciting – though telling it so it really grips you is another thing entirely – Nauti sends you on a journey through time. I simply went by myself here: I get bored quickly. So I built what I would find exciting – interactive, on the move, always engaged.

A word on the digital side, because it matters to me: we live a lot on screens, me included. It's convenient – you don't even have to step outside. Children grow up with it. Localnauts turns that around: the tablet comes along, but it sends you outside. You're on the move, you experience a story through the device – and you connect the real world in front of you with what happens digitally. During the trace scan, for instance, you photograph things and only really discover them in the process: you look more closely, observe, find the traces. Exactly this bringing together of screen and real world developed step by step and made more and more sense.

More than a game

But it's not only about the digital as such, it's also about social media – and about not simply drifting along in it, but finding your own stance. We are all easily influenced – children and teenagers especially. And right now there are many currents working against a good way of living together. That's why the game contains an element close to my heart: the team vote. You have an opinion – you're meant to have one, and to stand up for it. Then there's a vote, fairly, and the majority decides. A small piece of co-determination, practised.

And one more thing: finding your way around your own Kiez. Berlin is a big city, but the Kiez is also a village. Anyone who knows their way here, who knows where to find what and whom, feels safer. And whoever feels safe moves with more confidence.

At its core, Localnauts is exactly that: a confidence tool. It's meant to strengthen children – in how they are and who they are. That's how all these facets came together.

And now?

On 3 July 2026 it begins, in Berlin-Rixdorf. Localnauts – The Rixdorf Kiez Adventure. The interactive GPS scavenger hunt for families: no app, ready in minutes, for kids age 8+ (best for 8–12). Made for children and teenagers – but honestly just as much for any grown-up who has kept their sense of wonder.

Come along and see Rixdorf with new eyes: localnauts.com