Disney’s new Imagicademy app features St. Thomas engineering professor AnnMarie Thomas as one of its advisers.

The app, called “Mickey’s Magical Math World,” has a learn-by-play design and allows pre-school children to play games to learn essential skills. Using characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, users learn basic logic, math, design and more. Parents can also follow their children’s progress on an adult version of the app.

“People wiser than me have said that children … their work is play. The way that they learn the world is by play,” Thomas said. “You have an awful lot that you need to learn in the first five years of life, and that isn’t by reading textbooks on it.”

Thomas became involved with the development of the app when a member of the then-unnamed Imagicademy advisory board heard Thomas speak about her work in playful learning and asked her to speak to the company. Thomas was then recommended as an adviser for the board.

“My role is to be the maker person, the engineering person,” she said.

Board members do not design the app itself but give feedback on what’s already been developed. Thomas pushes for realistic touches to the game, like having wrenches tighten bolts by turning to the right and loosen by turning to the left.

“I’m pretty strong in my writing about how kids have to have real tactile experiences but that, even in an app like this, they’re getting some of those lessons across,” Thomas said.

Junior Haley Kubicek said she thinks making learning into games is a good idea for kids.

“It’s like music; they learn it by repetition,” Kubicek said.

The first few games on the children’s app are free with additional games for purchase. The parent app is free and allows parents to monitor their children’s improvement. It also suggests creative parent-child activities that foster learning and development, which Thomas likes.

“I don’t feel like I’m advising just on this one product that’s for sale; it’s more on concept,” Thomas said.

Disney Imagicademy plans to expand to other subjects in the coming months. An art version of the app will be released in February.

While the app is geared toward children, Thomas believes adults should be learning through play, too.

“Adults are often told, ‘Oh stop playing around and get some work done. You can play after you’re done working.’ But when we’re playing, you’re in the moment; you’re doing. You’re enjoying it. You’re usually not thinking about the outcome,” Thomas said. “It’s not about things being right or wrong … It’s much more about exploring.”

Elena Neuzil can be reached at neuz3833@stthomas.edu.