Pixar Animation Studios and the Crown Institute at the University of Colorado have come together to create a new kid’s-themed app ahead of the released of Inside Out 2. The app is called InsideU and was created to help children learn more about their emotions and relationships using characters and clips from Inside Out. This is done using real-world scenarios that children traditionally face. The Crown Institute also worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver to get feedback as they developed this app.
“InsideU has been a huge hit for the Club members I work with. They are beyond excited for the next emotion lessons to come out,” said Julie Arbuckle, a Mental Health Team Member from Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver.
InsideU combines clips from this beautiful movie along with interactive learning opportunities that promise to be both entertaining and also lead to personal insights when it is used. In the app, kids can meet the “Mind Worker” who guides them through the program while helping them also understand their emotions. There are four episodes found in the app. They include:
- Meet the Team
- Anger in Action
- Emotions and the Body
- A Powerful Pause
The app works to facilitate the creative application of social and emotional learning skills as elementary-aged children face real-world dilemmas.
The inspiration behind this app for the Crown Institute came from Dr. Sam Hubley being impacted by Inside Out nearly a decade ago. Hubley, a psychologist and researcher at the Crown Institute, has a long history with The Walt Disney Company. His grandfather was John Hubley, an Oscar-winning animation pioneer who worked at Walt Disney Studios on films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and Pinocchio before staring one of the first independent animation studios in the United States.
“By combining science, health education and brilliant animation, we have a golden opportunity to engage millions of young people to learn about their emotions and foster better relationships with others, during childhood and throughout their lives,” said Dr. Sam Hubley, an Assistant Research Professor at the Crown Institute, University of Colorado Boulder.
The following video was shared about this app:
The Crown Institute studios social and emotional learning (SEL) with the goal of improving self-awareness, social skills and responsible decision-making. According to the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning, the preeminent champion of SEL in the U.S., effective programs can measurably improve academic, behavioral and other health outcomes among youth.
This app is free and can be found at https://insideu.colorado.edu. More information about the app can be found at https://www.colorado.edu/crowninstitute/insideu.
What do you think of the InsideU app? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
