Not just for kids: the unstoppable rise of edutainment for all ages

A moment from Carnival Mega Plunger by Class CrunchLabs

by Brock Horning | April 2026

Interactive, story-led experiences capture and hold learners’ attention – and in our noisy, distractible digital world, that is a powerful thing.

Linear content alone no longer delivers the learning and training results you’re looking for – if it ever did. Edutainment can engage learners of all ages and keep their focus through to course completion. This means higher information retention rates and measurable impact for learning designers and the organizations footing the bill.

As new and powerful tools (like Stornaway.io) make edutainment more accessible to all, this once-niche approach to learning is gaining real momentum.

So what exactly do we mean by edutainment? This is any combination of storytelling, gaming, simulations and immersive technologies that are brought in to make the learning experience more fun and enjoyable.

Think, a murder-mystery game that teaches cybersecurity techniques or an interactive film that demonstrates the ethical consequences of your workplace decisions. (Both of which can be found in the examples).

Our enforced classroom-based school system has given us all the idea that learning must be serious and boring. We’re here to shout it loud: it doesn’t have to! And if you add the techniques and principles below to your learning design, you’ll notice the difference in the results.

A decision moment from Nobody’s Fault – an exploration of data ethics from Cornell University – see examples below.

1. Engages learning by doing: if learners must make decisions and respond to situations, they will be ‘leaning in’ and actively retaining information to help inform their choices.
2. Increases relevancy: resources and materials can be personalized to individual learners. This means they don’t switch off when a one-size-fits-all video runs through something irrelevant.
3. Increased accessibility: no matter where they are in the world or their viewing preferences, edutainment can flex to fit the way the individual learns best.
4. Tackles complex subjects: edutainment principles help communicate complex subjects or areas where problem-solving and critical thinking are required.
5. Gives real-world context: simulations and scenario training can mimic real life. This means viewers can see the context of what they are learning in a safe environment.
6. Boosts ‘soft’ skills: many types of edutainment encourage communication, teamwork and empathy – critical skills that don’t feature in traditional passive learning.

Together, all these benefits help increase engagement and information retention. Or, in other words, if the learner is having fun, they will pay closer attention, take it all in and remember more of it afterwards.

A still from Masquerade. Cybersecurity training from Living Security – see examples below.

Interactive video is 81% more effective at keeping learners’ attention. And with greater attention comes better information retention and a greater overall impact.

And that’s before you factor in the increasingly powerful features that video experience platforms can provide. For example, with Stornaway.io, use interactive experiences to track and measure learner progress, delivering results straight into the LMS of your choice. Invite learners into two-way conversations by allowing them to make decisions and respond with free-text answers. The opportunities are endless.

Humans are hardwired to respond to storytelling. It’s an ancient method of learning and passing on information to be remembered.

Its greatest power is in taking abstract concepts and making them understandable – take this example on workplace harassment. Weaving narrative structures and through-running characters through the educational content draws in the viewer on an emotional level.

Click to learn about a gamified product demo by Moonshot Inc.

Tapping into our inner satisfaction when we overcome a challenge, gamification boosts the learner’s motivation to continue absorbing information.

Gamification can come in the form of scoring systems, leaderboards or badge rewards for completing different tasks. And this doesn’t just apply to children; all age brackets feel that competitive edge – just think of the popularity that Duolingo has achieved.

What’s the quickest way to disengage a learner? It could be to cover a topic they already know, is too advanced, or has no relevance to them.

Allowing learners to adapt their experience to different knowledge levels or preferred styles of learning can be a huge advantage. Personalization can also enhance the learning experience, making recommendations or suggesting different videos or articles at the right moment to maintain seamless interest.

A decision moment from Portal-Lore: Naica Cave by Noura Zaher – exploring the famous cave system in VR

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have expanded the possibilities in edutainment. Blending the digital and physical worlds mean that learners can get hands-on in simulations that closely resemble the real world.

VR truly shines when training individuals for DIRE learning situations – that is, Dangerous, Impossible, Remote or Expensive. Learners can enter these scenarios and practice skills without real world consequences.

AR is increasingly being used to bring historical artefacts to life and entertain learners to make it more memorable and impactful.

Powered by Stornaway.io, these five varied examples of edutainment showcase the vast possibilities.

To compliment the BBC’s TV series of the same name, Forensics puts the viewer in the criminal’s shoes to demonstrate that any decision leaves a trace.

Using the potent power of curiosity, Real CSI encourages proactive learning by asking viewers to consider the forensic consequences before revealing the answers. An effective way to invest the learner in the materials and topic.

Forensics: The Real CSI by The Open University

A key element of Cornell University’s Data Ethic module, Nobody’s Fault demonstrates how edutainment principles can communicate abstract concepts.

Running through a story akin to the UK’s Post Office Horizons scandal, the short interactive film demonstrates the real-life impact of seemingly small data discrepancies. By using a narrative structure to connect audiences with the topic on an emotional level, it delivers a bold lesson in the impact of edutainment.

A behnd the scenes look at the impact of Nobody’s Fault by M. Elizabeth Karns and Cornell University

A beautifully crafted immersive map, ready to train the next generation of changemakers. Excursions in the United States lets curiosity guide you through the USA’s environmental challenges and potential solutions to encourage future leaders to create a positive impact within their local community.

Viewers are encouraged to think critically as they select and explore potential solutions, looking at how they impact different elements of society and the environment. The interactive experience increases relevancy by allowing viewers to select their own area of the United States and the challenges they’d most like to resolve.

Click through to Discovery Education’s website to play.

How do you make a dry topic like cybersecurity into edutainment? By fitting it on a murder-mystery style narrative structure.

In a Knives Out-style mystery, viewers must find out who stole the party host’s Netflix password. The humorous and engaging whodunnit format keeps viewers reeled in as they explore different ways that passwords can be compromised. Genius!

Play the trailer for Masquerade

Class Crunchlabs took a story-led approach to engage their audience of 11-16 year olds in a science quiz. Through hands-on carnival games, students uncover how weight, stability, and force work together to keep players coming back for more.

Using ramps, marbles, and even syringes, they investigate what really happens during all sorts of collisions. The real win? Knowing how it all works.

Play Carnival Mega Plunger by Class CrunchLabs

Bringing interactive elements into your learning design can have a huge impact. Consider the common techniques above and how you can implement them into your own learning and training.

If you already have linear learning or training videos, embracing edutainment doesn’t mean starting from scratch. There are several ways to add interactivity to enhance engagement and retention. From adding a points system for every video section completed to allowing learners to go straight to the sections of the training video relevant to them, there are so many options.