Questa is an online learning platform helping kids aged 7-12 explore the cultures of the world, via an immersive learning quest through the histories and traditions of different countries, with a strong emphasis on the perspectives and stories of women.

Kids follow our two characters, Questa and Zeke, as they travel through the time and space of different countries, meeting important women (both fictional and historical) and helping them with learning activities.

If they are successful in helping, they receive learning tokens which save the knowledge of that country for future generations.

Kids follow the narrative of Questa and Zeke and the women they meet through cartoon panels and voiceovers. Between the narrative sections are extra information like maps, infographics and audio clips to enhance learning.

Each woman that Questa and Zeke meet needs help with a particular activity - it could be creating a map, filling in information about a country, solving a puzzle, completing a wordsearch or answering a quiz.

No, definitely not! Although a majority of our characters are women, Questa Kids is designed for kids of all genders. There is plenty of evidence that young boys need strong female role models as much as young girls do, so that’s how Questa Kids was designed.

Questa Kids is designed for ages 7-12. However, we’ve found that both older and younger children respond well to it - if in doubt, give it a try! You can take advantage of our trial month and see how your child enjoys it.

Questa and Zeke are our two main characters. Questa is a curious girl who asks a lot of questions and is frequently getting told off for them. She doesn’t like learning or teachers. She has an older sister called Mara who has very smooth hair and is very good at sitting still and listening.

Zeke is an interdimensional, intergalactic, time-travelling being who looks a little like an iguana. He’s pretty grumpy and sarcastic and he doesn’t like humans. He also has a degree in mixology.

Zeke, a grumpy, time-travelling, interdimensional, intergalactic being that looks quite like an iguana has been sent back in time to save the knowledge of the future, which is being held hostage by an evil billionaire.

He’s been to the UN, the WHO, even the Scientologists but no one will help him. It’s probably because he looks like a talking iguana. The only person he can find to help him is a little girl with a lot of questions, Questa.

Zeke needs to find a password for each country in the world, which can only be discovered by visiting important women through the space and time of a country, helping them and learning their stories. In return they will give him tokens. When 12 tokens have been collected per country, the password is complete.

Zeke and Questa must work together to find the tokens, releasing the knowledge of the world for future generations. Along the way they might just learn a bit about themselves as well.

Questa Kids is a journey through six countries:

• Iceland

• Spain

• Japan

• Mexico

• England

• Morocco

Purchasing Questa Kids gives you access to all 6 countries.

You don’t have to, but it will make more sense for the story if you follow in the correct order.

Over time Questa and Zeke learn more about each other and their mission, so if you skip a country, you might miss out!

Learning activities cover a wide variety of topics and types. Examples of activities include:

• Matching letters in the English and Icelandic alphabets

• Discovering the spiritual meanings behind objects in Japanese paintings

• Translating a Spanish menu with traditional foods

• Filling in Departmental paperwork (don’t worry, it’s not as boring as it sounds)

SSM stands for Sensitive Subject Matter alerts. During quests through different countries, we sometimes come across topics which are sensitive, contentious or complex.

Past examples include: Romani communities, Nuclear war, Cultural Appropriation.

In these cases, children must pass an SSM alert which helps them understand a topic more deeply, before they can progress to the Learning Activity.

All SSMs have been designed in concert with a Child Psychiatrist, to ensure they are age-appropriate and measured.

Parents can read about SSMs on our SSM page, which gives detailed explanations of the content, as well as links to information on how to talk to your children about difficult topics.

That’s fine! The best thing to do is check where you’ve stopped and make a note. So if you want to take a break after Learning Activity 6 in Akureyri, Iceland - just make a note.

When you go back to the login page, click on the country, then the pin on the map that corresponds with the right number - you’ll be right back where you left!

Throughout each Country Quest, Zeke and Questa meet various important women. When they meet a woman who actually existed, like Frida Kahlo, they receive a Famous Woman Badge to add to their collection.

Kids who want to can ‘save’ their Famous Women badges by right-clicking on the badge on the page, and saving the image to their computer. They can print them and cut them out (with parental approval).

In the future there will be prizes for children who have collected certain numbers of Famous Women badges.

No, the platform is completely online. However it may be helpful for your child to have some paper and a pencil next to them while working, as it can sometimes be helpful when working out answers.

Questa Kids costs £59.99 for access to all six Country Quests. It is not possible to buy the Quests individually.

When you purchase Questa Kids, you’ll be invited to enter a discount code which will reduce the price you pay accordingly.

The first 3 activities of the Iceland Country Quest can be trialled for free, when you sign up to the mailing list. Just sign up via the popup box or the newsletter form at the bottom of each page and you’ll get access straight away.

We stand behind our products and your satisfaction with them is important to us. However, because our products are digital goods we generally offer no refunds.

If you’ve changed your mind within 72 hours of purchase, please email us to discuss the issue.

Yes, in time Questa and Zeke will be travelling to other places and saving more of the world’s knowledge. If you’d like to be informed when the next Quests are ready, make sure to sign up to the mailing list.

Coming soon!

All Questa Kids content is vetted to be safe for children. Occasionally we ask children to research some information themselves. Each search is tested by our team.

We also recommend that you follow standard online safety guidelines for children, including having parental controls on for Google searches.

Questa Kids’ users can contact our team through the platform for the purposes of reporting problems. Every member of the Questa Kids’ team who has access to the inbox has been DBS checked.

Please read our policy on child safety at Questa Kids here.

It’s best to check out our SSM page if you’re worried about some of the things we discuss. If you’re concerned about what may be discussed, it may be better to have your child skip that activity. The SSM page will make it clear which sections to avoid.

If you would like more information about the SSMs, including look at the content itself in advance, please contact a member of our team.

While the majority of content on Questa Kids is created by us, we occasionally link to external sites, particularly YouTube.

Any external site we link to is extensively checked and available through child-friendly channels, e.g. Youtube Kids. To ensure that kids don’t get distracted, we also make sure that when linking to videos, clicking onwards to other videos is disabled.

Yes, Questa Kids is linked to the UK curriculum for KS1 and KS2, but extends further beyond it. Questa Kids is intended to be joyful, curious and exploratory so can’t always stay within the bounds of the official curriculum.

Each Country Quest has a list of Learning Objectives which can be found at the bottom of the Country Quest page.

We follow the principles of the 7Cs pedagogy, which you can read more about on our website.

Yes! Questa Kids is not specifically designed to improve literacy, but it involves quite a bit of reading. The narrative scenes combine reading and listening, while the Learning Activities require following instructions.

We hope that children will be motivated to improve their literacy skills through completing Learning Activities and following the story of Questa and Zeke.

The Women and Equalities Parliamentary Committee (2016) notes “By the time they reach secondary school children often have entrenched views about gender norms. It is therefore important that children are educated about gender equality… in primary school.” 31% of children’s books have a lead female characters and 7% have characters from an ethnic minority background.

85% of surveyed parents believe schools aren’t doing enough to teach children about different cultures and traditions. 94% of parents want their children to learn about the achievements of women.

Kids and parents want and need inclusive learning materials which show a diverse approach to history, culture and geography, avoiding stereotypes. That’s what we’re doing at Questa Kids.

Research shows that girls in particular suffer from a drop in confidence between the ages 8 and 14, which doesn’t appear for boys. Research also shows how important positive role models are for both boys and girls.

Plus, there are plenty of male characters out there. It’s time for them to budge up a bit.

Yes, part of the Questa Kids ethos is about helping kids to develop independent research skills and become resilient learners.

There are many ways kids can do that research - they can use an encyclopedia, ring up a relative or friend or use a search engine. When we ask kids to do that, we talk them through the steps carefully, encouraging them to develop their skills, while keeping safety at the forefront.

Using search engines effectively is a crucial skill for kids to learn. Targeted research tasks allow kids to effectively search for knowledge, which is a key skill later on. It also empowers the child, as they begin to discover that they are in control of their learning.

While it is possible to use Questa Kids without the use of a search engine, it may be difficult. We encourage parents to follow online safety guidelines, however monitoring your child’s online behaviour is the only way to totally guarantee appropriate use.

Questa Kids follows Claxton and Lucas’ 7Cs approach, which focuses on developing the skills of confidence, curiosity, collaboration, communication, creativity, commitment and craftsmanship.

In this approach there are no winners or losers (as with standardized testing), but a host of skills that any child can develop, avoiding a zero-sum game approach. According to Claxton & Lucas, ‘if you cannot be a winner at the grade game, you can still come away having been a winner at the character game’.

While these skills can be tricky to develop in an individualized online learning environment, we work hard to include them, particularly through our Additional Country Activities, and plan to introduce 7Cs achievement badges in the near future.

If you don’t understand an activity, drop us an email! We’re happy to help as best we can.

There’s a button at the top of every page to report mistakes. Just click on the button and fill in some details and we’ll fix it as soon as possible!

One of the advantages of an online platform is that we can change things pretty quickly, especially if they’re part of a Learning Activity.

Oh no! Don’t worry - some more will be along soon.

In the meantime, we have some additional country-themed activities and recommendations on our Activities page. These are ‘unlocked’ at the end of each completed Country Quest and give kids an additional chance to learn, explore and create.

Remember to send us a picture if you make something!

Questa Kids is based in the UK but is an international product.

Please be aware that spellings, sentiment and humour are British.

No, Questa Kids is currently only available in English.

However, stay tuned! We hope to work towards versions in different languages soon.

Hey! That’s our previous company! Questa Kids is based on lots of the same principles as DTK but we’ve got new characters, a new business, new technology and a lot more women.

If you liked DTK, think of us as the advanced version of that. Pop over and give us a trial!