🚂 Turning Rail Safety into Fun with Animation and Interactive Activities
About The Client
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) has been on a mission to keep people safe around railroad tracks since bell-bottoms were in style (yep, we’re talking 1972!). 🚉 As the go-to organization for rail safety education, OLI helps prevent accidents and save lives through education programs. But now, they’ve set their sights on a new audience—kids! Because what better way to ensure rail safety’s future than by teaching the next generation?
Check out their work here: OLI 🌟
The Challenge
Let’s be honest—getting kids excited about rail safety is like trying to convince them to eat broccoli. 😬 It’s just not their favorite topic. OLI needed a way to make safety fun and relatable for kids aged Pre-K through 12, while also making sure those crucial lessons really stuck.
So, how do you teach kids to stay safe around trains without losing their attention halfway through? (Spoiler alert: It involves a super fun mascot and colorful animation. 😉)
Scope of the Project
Our mission was clear: create a range of materials to help kids learn about rail safety while keeping them entertained. 🎨 These included a catchy animated Public Service Announcement (PSA) in three lengths (75, 60, and 30 seconds), a coloring book for the little ones, and an activity book for older kids, full of puzzles, games, and brain teasers. And, of course, it all needed to feature OLI’s friendly mascot, ST3 (Charlie), who’s a bit like the Mr. Rogers of rail safety. 🚦
Here’s how we made it happen:
Pre-production Planning
First, we teamed up with OLI to get the messaging just right. They sent over a content outline and key points they wanted to hit (safety first, of course!). From there, we got creative, turning those serious messages into a story kids would actually enjoy watching. 📖
And then came the star of the show: ST3 (a.k.a. Charlie), who’s basically a safety superhero disguised as a cool mascot. With a slogan like “See Tracks? Think Train!”, we knew Charlie would have kids thinking twice about those railroad tracks! 🚧
We developed mockups of Charlie and his friends, working closely with OLI to make sure everything felt fun, colorful, and—most importantly—kid-friendly. ST3 was ready to hop on the train to safety town, and we couldn’t wait to bring him to life.
Production and Post-Production
Cue the animation magic! 🎬 We dove into creating an exciting animated PSA where Charlie teaches kids to stay safe on platforms and while riding trains. The animation was fast-paced, engaging, and full of fun moments to keep even the squirmiest kids glued to the screen. And with a bouncy voiceover guiding them through, it felt less like a lecture and more like an adventure.
But the fun didn’t stop there! 🎨 We also whipped up a coloring book for Pre-K kids, complete with trains, signs, and scenes for them to color in while learning. For the elementary-aged kiddos, we put together an activity book filled with word searches, matching games, and crosswords—because learning is way more fun when there’s a puzzle involved, right? 🧩
Oh, and did we mention? Everything was made in both English and Spanish, so Charlie could reach as many young riders as possible. 🌍
The Final Result
The end result was nothing short of awesome! 🙌 ST3 Charlie became a rail safety superstar, delivering important messages in a way that kids loved. The animated PSA, along with the coloring and activity books, now lives on the OLI website, where teachers, parents, and even rail transit systems can download them for free. 🚂📚
Whether it’s learning through fun puzzles or watching Charlie on-screen, kids are now better equipped to make safe choices when they’re around trains—and they’re having a blast doing it!
Check out the final animations below to see how we turned rail safety into a fun and engaging experience. 🎥
🎬 Want to create engaging content that sticks? Sparkhouse can help your brand stand out while delivering a powerful message. Let’s work together to make something unforgettable!
With Sparkhouse and OLI working together, rail safety just got a whole lot cooler. 😎
