New 'Agents of Discovery' app invites Port Orange residents to explore city parks

Port Orange parks are brimming with natural beauty, giving residents plenty of reason to stroll around and observe the nearby plants and animals.

But now the city has created one more reason for locals to visit the city's parks.

“Agents of Discovery” is a phone app that allows its users to explore an outdoor area while completing missions and challenges — an augmented reality, geo-triggered app experience similar to 2016’s hit Pokémon Go.

“Agents of Discovery … has been crafted to captivate outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, fostering a dynamic exploration of science, culture,” the city said in a press release announcing the initiative last month.

In an email to The News-Journal, city spokesman Mike Springer wrote that Parks and Recreation Department officials recently attended “conferences that included sessions on various AR apps that were being developed specifically for public parks.”

The department sees a “growing trend” for these kinds of apps in public spaces, given Pokémon Go’s success.

“After some research, the Agents of Discovery app stood out for its emphasis on environmental, cultural and historical education that helps the users further connect to the park they are visiting,” Springer wrote.

Agents of Discovery was founded in 2015 as “a digital education technology platform that features a web-based dashboard (called the Mission Maker) where educators can easily turn their educational content into augmented reality games using our cloud-based library (full of ready-to-use images, sounds and 3D AR objects) or using their own, customized materials,” according to the company website.

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The initial fee to develop the Port Orange version cost the city $7,000, with a $4,000 annual maintenance fee.

“All fees were able to be absorbed into the current budget,” Springer wrote. “There are sponsorship opportunities available for organizations that want to assist with the ongoing cost and can be recognized in the app as a supporter of the program.”

How does Agents of Discovery work in Port Orange?

First, residents who want to play should download the app, which is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

The app will ask users to create an account if they want to. Doing so allows users to track their progress as they visit the parks, which cannot be done without signing up.

Since Jan. 12, three city parks have been “active” in the Agents of Discovery app:

• City Center (1000 City Center Circle).

• Buschman Park (4575 Spruce Creek Road).

• Riverwalk Park (3459 S. Ridgewood Ave.).

“With three active parks at a time, the initiative rotates parks every three months, offering users a virtual adventure where they can unlock unique pins for each park,” according to the city. “Accumulate three pins to earn the coveted Port Orange Explorer Patch and conquer all six parks to ascend to the esteemed Expert Explorer level.”

City Center and Buschman Park will always be available. Riverwalk Park is available now and will rotate out in late April. There will be a new park every three months. The app will return to Riverwalk Park in January 2025.

The three parks next on the list are:

• Airport Road Park (Unnamed road near Fire Station 74 at 6831 Airport Road).

• Coarci Park (5365 Cordgrass Bend Lane).

• All Children’s Park (5959 Spruce Creek Road).

While at the parks, users can do “challenges, spanning environmental, historical and cultural themes.”

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“When looking through their screen, users will be able to see images of wildlife that appear to exist in the real world of the park,” Springer explained. “Each ‘challenge’ is a different game. Some are as simple as answering a question from a list on the screen. Other challenges may ask the participants to drag and drop the floating images into a specific sequence, such as the order of the food chain. The questions will all be relevant to things the participants can see and learn about in the park. And if you don’t know the answer immediately, you’ll learn it by the time you’ve finished the challenge. Interactive games make the learning experience much more long-lasting and enjoyable.”

Can residents win any prizes by playing the game?

Once the participants complete the mission at each park, they can visit the REC (4655 City Center Circle) to pick up a park pin. Staff will ask to see their device to show proof of completion.

Completing the challenges on all three parks will earn players a “Port Orange Explorer Patch.” If they manage to complete all six parks, they will earn an “Expert Explorer Patch.”

“Participants will receive a board to collect their pins and badges on for display,” Springer wrote. “All are available for pickup at the REC.”

“A max of two prizes will be awarded per device or account showing mission completion,” according to the city.

How are Port Orange residents using Agents of Discovery?

Springer said “there’s already been a lot of excitement surrounding the release of the app.”

“We’re continuing to get the word out and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone out enjoying the new games,” he wrote. “We recognize that kids (and adults) already spend significant amounts of time on their phones, even while in our parks. We intend to meet them where they are by connect with them through their devices. By making the experience fun and interactive, participants will find themselves more engaged with their surroundings. They’ll be learning through play and experiencing our parks in a whole new way.”

Port Orange resident Michelle Rutkowski took her 12-year-old daughter to City Center to try the app.

“It took about an hour from start to finish to go through all the challenges,” Rutkowski said in an interview. “We found it fun, because outside that whole time and it didn’t feel like an hour.”

She said her daughter liked the interactivity the app offered, as well as the variety of the 10 challenges they completed.

“Every time we came to a challenge, the format of it was different, so we didn’t know what to expect, which was good,” she said. “One challenge might tell you something about the area you were looking at, just kind of informational, and then another challenge would tell you something and pull up an interactive screen, which was fun. She got to play and move characters around.”

Rutkowski said she liked the fact that the app gives a chance for kids of all ages to get outside while also learning something new.

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She said she and her daughter, Port Orange residents for over 10 years, are excited to try Riverwalk Park’s challenges next, which is a spot they typically go to enjoy the outdoors.

“We had a good time doing it,” she said.

Agents of Discovery is available for free download on the App Store and Google Play.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Port Orange residents have new app to help explore city parks