11.12.2025

Learning about standardization through gummy bears and playing – a cool new board game for everyone

METSTA and House of Knowledge have launched a joint project aimed at introducing all Finnish people – particularly primary school pupils, their teachers, and the pupils’ parents – to the world of standards. The goal of this innovative collaboration is to make standards accessible to young learners through play, inspiration and age-appropriate activities.

A gummy-bear-themed board game is being developed, based on House of Knowledge’s award-winning pedagogical methods for learning games and METSTA’s ideas.

In the game, players design their own gummy bear using physical game pieces. Under the teacher’s guidance, pupils consider what features are required for a candy to be called a gummy bear. This involves thinking about the right composition, taste, shape, size and packaging. Is a gummy bear the size of an apartment building too big to eat? 

Players learn effectively by thinking and exploring together in a game where there are no winners or losers. Everyone experiments and builds together, and each child “wins” through positive learning experiences. No actual candy is given to participants either, so there is no need to worry about cavities.

“In the game, children explore everything needed to make a gummy bear. They learn these things without ever needing to mention words like rule, guideline or standard,” explains CEO of House of Knowledge Magnus Hakvåg, describing the insightful learning model.

First gummy bear workshop meeting with METSTA and HOK experts.

The importance of standards

Standards affect everything around us, even though their significance and benefits are not widely understood in our society. In addition to making everyday life safer and smoother, standards open major international opportunities for companies by removing technical barriers to trade. METSTA’s mission is to increase awareness of the benefits of standardization. The board game under development aims to ensure that even the youngest learners become familiar with standards through learning and play.

“The challenge is that most of our society is built using standards, but very few people actually know what they are, why they exist or how they work. If you want to understand how society and the EU function, you also have to understand standards,” says Magnus Hakvåg.

The goal of the board game is to help everyone — and especially children — understand how standards shape their world, from the size of toys to safety and the rules of fair play. Another aim is to help children learn important life skills early on, such as collaboration, problem-solving, and systems thinking. The candy factory invites everyone to sweet cooperation!

How it all started with a candy-coated idea

On “Take Your Child to Work Day,” METSTA’s CEO Päivi Brunou had the opportunity to explain standards by organizing a cheerful and inspiring gummy bear workshop. Parents who observed the workshop later commented that they would have liked to participate themselves. At first, it didn’t seem possible to them that standards could be explained to children in such an engaging way – they were delighted to see that it could be done.

A little later, representatives of House of Knowledge and METSTA experts met at an industry conference. The encounter sparked a discussion about cooperation that could benefit both parties. The new board game built around gummy bears is a meaningful challenge for House of Knowledge, whose learning methods are now being tested for the first time with young children.

”What fascinates me is how we can talk about something essential for progress, collaboration, and trust—without ever naming it outright. That curiosity keeps me going as I work to become a better science advocate and educator, turning big ideas into something accessible and engaging for all ages. After all, standards are fun,” comments Päivi Brunou.

Equipment for the first gummy bear workshop during the ”Take Your Child to Work Day”.

A final sprinkle of magic

Designing the game began 15 months ago, and it is expected to be completed next June. After that, the board game will be delivered to preschools across Finland. Teachers will be trained to facilitate the game, and feedback will be collected from the play sessions. Parents may also end up learning more about standards through the game.

”Teaching standardization can be challenging as students typically have some strong preconceived ideas regarding standardization and sometimes these ideas can act as actual learning blocks for students. As this game eases players in without mentioning words like standards and standardization, we can avoid these blocks and instill the core concepts like cooperation and consensus building which are the critical in standardization processes,” explains METSTA’s Technical Advisor Dr. Frans Nilsén.

“Funnily enough, similar approach of teaching standardization without mentioning standards have been used successfully by other standards educators and researchers, however to my understanding this is a first game in Europe that targets kids,” he continues.

Magnus Hakvåg and Håvard Almås from House of Knowledge are responsible for the game’s pedagogy and implementation. Päivi Brunou and Frans Nilsén from METSTA are responsible for the game concept and pilot testing in Finland. For METSTA, the project provides an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of standards in Finland through new generations.

We look forward to the learning outcomes – and in the meantime, we can all start designing our own gummy bear. What could be sweeter!

If you are interested in hearing more about the gummy bear game or are interested in trying the game out when it is ready, contact Päivi Brunou or Frans Nilsén.