At “Epidaure Market”, you can fill your trolley to the brim, there is nothing to pay: this supermarket, larger than life, is virtual. It was designed by researchers and teachers from Montpellier (Hérault), at Epidaure, the Prevention center of the Cancer Institute, to make adolescents aware of eating well. This “serious game”, accessible only in class, transports students to the shelves of a store.
After choosing a scenario (a birthday, a picnic, a breakfast, a meal when the canteen is closed…), they are invited to push their trolleys from shelf to shelf, to do the shopping that seems relevant to them. For each product, a whole bunch of characteristics are indicated to the students, in particular the origin and the Nutriscore. And because in a game, even a very “serious” one, you need enemies, everything has been imagined to reproduce, as well as possible, the temptations of a real supermarket: the pretty packaging, the sound announcements announcing a promotion, the sodas in gondola heads, etc.
“Knowing what motivated students’ purchases”
“Once they have done their shopping, the idea is to start a discussion with the students, to find out what motivated their purchases”, explains Nicolas Marco, teacher in Life and land at college, and speaker at Epidaure, who participated in the creation of this tool. This makes it possible in particular to discuss, with the participants, the impact on health of products that are too sweet or too salty, the protection of the environment, and respect for the seasons. “In the supermarket, we deliberately leave out fruits that are not in season, so that we can discuss them with the students,” notes the teacher.
Several sessions, on “Epidaure Market”, are offered to teenagers. One of them even invites them to stick their noses in the fridge at home and discuss it with their parents. The session ends with a last little tour of this virtual supermarket, to check if all these discussions about eating well have borne fruit.
Research to assess the relevance of the tool
“They can thus compare their purchases, during the first and the last session, to see what has changed”, confides Florian Lecêtre, doctoral student in psychology, who participated in the development of “Epidaure Market”, at the laboratory Paul-Valéry University Epsylon. “For now, the tool has been designed for college students. But, possibly, later, the support will be adapted to high school students, even to students. We are in the process of developing sessions for primary school children. The tool will also be available on giant touch screens, in Epidaurus, which will host classes. »
Will “Epidaure Market” open soon to all students in France? Research has been undertaken, with several dozen classes, to scientifically assess the relevance of this game. is that we can, tomorrow, offer “Epidaure Market” to all teachers in France who wish. »