Founded in the 15th century, the University of Poitiers is one of the oldest academic institutions in Europe. Renowned for its excellence in research and educational innovation, it draws on a rich scientific and cultural heritage. Through its paleontological collections and specialized laboratories, the university is deeply committed to sharing scientific knowledge and promoting research to a wide audience.

The University of Poitiers wanted to design an interactive educational tool to explore the different processes of fossilization. The challenge: to transform a complex scientific topic into a playful and immersive experience capable of engaging both students and the general public. The application needed to offer a variety of dynamic scenarios showing how environmental, biological, and chemical factors influence fossil formation. The goal was to make the understanding of these natural phenomena both intuitive and engaging, while maintaining scientific accuracy.

WebGL. Playable through the University of Poitiers website

Inversive created an innovative WebGL application that transforms the study of fossilization into an interactive, game-like experience. Fully connected to the university’s servers, it allows users to save their progress and return to their learning journey at any time. The platform immerses users in a series of scientifically accurate yet engaging scenarios, where each decision influences the fate of a chosen organism — from its life environment to the conditions leading to fossilization.

Players can experiment with over ten distinct species, from single-celled organisms to complex plants and animals, discovering how different biological compositions affect the fossilization process. Each completed scenario rewards users with authentic 3D-scanned fossils, digitized from the University of Poitiers’ real paleontological collections.

Designed to be multilingual and web-accessible, the application stands out for its blend of educational depth, gamified learning, and immersive 3D visualization, offering a cutting-edge way to explore Earth’s ancient past through interactive science.