During the 2026 edition of the Ence Open Doors (EPA) project, held on June 10 and 11, IBGEeduca conducted the workshop Travel at Play: knowledge opening paths, offering students from the Rio de Janeiro municipal network an educational experience based on gamification and the use of official data. The activity provided students from Primary School II and Youth and Adult Education (EJA) from municipal schools in Rio de Janeiro with a differentiated educational experience, marked by the integration between learning and playfulness. 

EPA also took part in the celebrations for the IBGE's 90th anniversary and highlighted the pedagogical potential of statistics, geography and geosciences in developing participants' critical reasoning and autonomy. As part of this celebration, teachers and students participating in the workshops received copies of the most recent School Geographic Atlas, reinforcing the institutional commitment to the dissemination of knowledge.

An interactive learning journey

The Travel at Play workshop transformed official IBGE data and publications into central elements of an investigative dynamic. Organized into groups of four to five members, the students participated in an activity based on completing “missions,” registered in a symbolic passport, in which they accumulated stamps for each challenge overcome.

Among the proposed activities, the decoding of codes for opening padlocks and access to digital devices stood out, using information extracted from sources such as the School Geographic Atlas, the Cities portal and IBGEeduca itself. The proposal encouraged the use of real data about Brazil, promoting the development of interpretation, critical analysis and information verification skills, including through the distinction between true and false news.

The dynamics were carefully adapted to suit different audience profiles. For Primary School II students, the challenges required greater autonomy, including the interpretation of geographic data and the resolution of complex puzzles. For EJA students, the activities were supported by monitors, who helped with the use of the IBGE digital tools, such as the Names in Brazil platform. In both modalities, the final mission culminated in a memory game about the 2026 World Cup countries, ending the experience in a playful and integrative way.

Participants' perceptions

The impact of the workshop was evidenced by reports from students and teachers. Student Luiz Felippe Vieira Marinho, in the 8th year of Santa Catarina Municipal School, highlighted the positive nature of the experience, especially the memory game. Professor Ronaldo Pimentel Batista, from EJA at Orlando Villas Boas School, highlighted the innovative nature of the activity, emphasizing that learning can occur beyond the traditional classroom. According to him, the welcome from the monitors contributed to student engagement.

Likewise, mathematics teacher Daiana Amorim observed a high level of interest and participation from students, highlighting the importance of initiatives that enable the practical application of acquired knowledge. Student Rafaela Vasconcelos, monitor of the Olympic Girls program at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics - IMPA (a program that encourages Basic Education students in Rio de Janeiro to pursue careers in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics), highlighted the concrete nature of the activity, highlighting that mathematics was presented beyond formulas, in a more tangible and meaningful way.

Geography professor Luiz Cláudio Cardoso Gomes also emphasized the relevance of the event, both for students and teachers. For him, the activity revealed the pedagogical potential of the information produced by the IBGE, highlighting gamification as an effective strategy to stimulate learning through curiosity, reflection and engagement.

The Ence Open Doors project

Promoted annually by the National School of Statistical Sciences (Ence/IBGE), the EPA is an important university extension initiative, aimed at bringing society and scientific knowledge closer together. The project seeks to translate complex concepts into practical applications, making them more understandable and relevant to everyday life.

In this edition, the event brought together around 200 students from municipal schools in Rio de Janeiro in eight thematic workshops, held at Ence's headquarters, in downtown Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the Travel at Play, topics such as probability in football (futEnce), social perception (Who am I?), use of graphs in decision making, data interpretation (RePense), mathematical challenges (Workshop Tour), map reading (Census: maps and images) and general knowledge about Brazil (Brazil Game) were covered.

Another relevant aspect was the participation of Ence students as volunteers in the workshops, contributing to the mediation of activities and strengthening the link between academic training and social practice.

In summary, the Travel at Play workshop highlighted the potential of official statistics and geography as innovative pedagogical tools. By transforming data into elements of an interactive narrative, the initiative demonstrated that learning can be simultaneously rigorous, meaningful and engaging, arousing students' interest and expanding their understanding of Brazil.