# Bag of Wonder: The Police Officer > Meet Officer Bruce, a kind police officer. See his police car, cross the road safely, help find a lost teddy and learn what to do if you are lost. A free interactive 3D exhibit for children aged 2 to 6, from Curiosity's Child in Troy, Michigan. - Interactive exhibit: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/police/ - Ages: 2 to 6. The story is pitched at the youngest; the tap cards give older children more to chew on. - Cost: free, with no sign-in, no ads and no tracking. - Works on: phones, tablets and computers, in a web browser. Sound on for the narration. ## What it is Meet Officer Bruce, a kind police officer. See his police car, cross the road safely, help find a lost teddy and learn what to do if you are lost. How to play: press play to hear the story (read aloud in Kelly's voice, with the words on screen). Slide the time slider back and forth to see any part again. Slide "Pull apart" to see what is hidden inside. Tap any glowing button for a fact. ## The story 1. Good morning, poppets! This is the police station, and here is Officer Bruce. Police officers help keep everyone safe. 2. Bruce gets ready for his day. He sets his cap straight, and shows his badge. A badge says: I am a helper. 3. Here is Bruce's police car. Its lights flash, and its siren sings: make way, make way! Everyone moves over, so the car can get there safely. 4. Bruce helps children cross the road. Stop! Look, and listen. And hold a grown-up's hand. Now you try, poppets: put up your stop hand, and look both ways! 5. At the park, a little girl has lost her teddy. Suhayla looks, and looks. Bruce kneels down, to listen to her. 6. Bruce looks too. There it is, under the bench! Teddy is found, and what a big hug! 7. If you are ever lost, poppets, find a police officer, or a grown-up with children, and say your name. They will help you. 8. On his walk, Bruce waves to the neighbors. Police officers are friends who help. 9. Back at the station, the day is done. Thank you, Bruce! 10. Look, poppets: a police officer's world on one table! The police car, Bruce's cap and badge, and a crossing sign. ## The parts, and what we tell children These are the tap cards, word for word. - **Police station**: The police station is where police officers work. It is a safe place to go when you need help. - **Police officer**: Police officers are helpers. They keep everyone in the neighborhood safe, and they are kind. - **Cap**: A police officer's cap is part of the uniform. It helps everyone see: here is a helper. - **Badge**: A badge shows that a person is a police officer. If you ever need help, look for the badge. - **Police car**: A police car takes a police officer to where help is needed. It has four doors, just like a family car. - **Lights and siren**: Flashing lights and a siren tell everyone a police car is coming. Cars move over to let it pass. - **Doors**: A police car has four doors. Everyone inside wears a seat belt, even police officers! - **Wheels**: Four strong wheels with rubber tires carry the car along the road. - **Hood**: Under the hood is the engine. The engine is what makes the car go. - **Trunk**: The trunk is a place to keep helpful things, like a first-aid kit. - **Crossing sign**: This sign tells drivers that people are walking across the road, so they slow down and watch for them. - **Crosswalk**: A crosswalk is the safe place to cross the road. Stop, look and listen, and hold a grown-up's hand. - **Stop, look, listen**: When Bruce holds up his hand, it means stop. Stop, look both ways, and listen. Then hold a grown-up's hand to cross. - **Suhayla**: This is Suhayla. She is little, and she has lost her teddy. Bruce is helping her look. - **Teddy**: Teddy is found! When a toy is lost, a helper can look too. - **If you are lost**: Stay where you are, and look for a police officer, or a grown-up with children. Say your name, and they will help you. - **Friendly helpers**: Police officers are friends in the neighborhood. When you are with a grown-up you know, you can wave and say hello. ## Getting the science right What we checked, and the myths we steer around: - The page shows a friendly helper only: no weapons, no handcuffs, no chases and no "bad guys". Officer Bruce's belt is empty, and he has no radio in his picture. - Crossing the road (US pedestrian-safety teaching for young children): stop at the curb, look both ways, listen, and hold a grown-up's hand. A crossing guard or officer holds up one hand to mean "stop" to the traffic. - If a child is lost (NCMEC and local police guidance): stay where you are, look for a police officer or a grown-up with children (a parent with kids is a safer choice than a stranger alone), and say your name. The page never asks a child to go with anyone, and never uses the word "secret". - The police car is a generic American patrol sedan (comrade1280, CC BY, "Generic civil service vehicles pack"); the page writes only the word POLICE on it, no department name or real logo. Its lights flash red and blue gently, and its siren is a soft, brief recording heard far off. - Officer Bruce (about 1.85 m) and Suhayla (about 4 years old, 1.0 m, the same character as the Body exhibit) are painted for this exhibit with Grok and cut out of their plain ground; their heights are true to each other. Suhayla's teddy (lying under the bench, then in her arms) is cut from her hug picture, with the fur her arms covered filled in. - The four backdrops (the station, a crosswalk, a park and a street) are Grok paintings by Kelly; the station's POLICE sign and small flag were painted on afterward. ## How to use it with children Watch the story with the sound on. At the crossing, practice stop, look, listen together. At the park, ask: what would you do if you could not find your grown-up? Then pull the slider at the table to open the police car and tap the cap, the badge and the sign. Ask more than you tell, and let the child drive. Then step away from the screen: practice saying your full name and your grown-up's name. Practice crossing at a corner: stop, look, listen, hold a hand. If you can, visit your local police station on an open day and say hello to an officer. A few minutes together is plenty. The exhibit is a doorway to the real thing, not a replacement for it. ## Credits and licenses The real scans, maps and photographs belong to their makers, under the licenses below. The words, story and code are Curiosity's Child's. - Police car: [comrade1280](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/generic-civil-service-vehicles-pack-8ff2a13f30914932a70c7950cfa58465) (CC BY), cut into its parts - Officer Bruce and Suhayla: painted for this exhibit with Grok - Crossing sign: [ChaoticGacha](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/pedestrian-crossing-sign-e23c34e9dec947b69776f573ae85a791) (CC BY) - Table and light: [Poly Haven](https://polyhaven.com) (CC0) - The station, the crosswalk, the park and the street: paintings made with Grok - Lights made in code - Sounds from Freesound ([CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)): [mzui](https://freesound.org/s/135074/), [ibirdfilm](https://freesound.org/s/128160/), [kyles](https://freesound.org/s/635734/), [logant547](https://freesound.org/s/702452/), [mihnelis](https://freesound.org/s/868247/) - Music-box tune made for this page - Narrated by Kelly, in her own voice ## More on the Community Helpers shelf - [The Firefighter](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/firefighter/index.md): Meet Aaron, a kind firefighter. Put on his gear, ride the fire truck, rescue a kitten and learn stop, drop and roll. - [The Ambulance](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/ambulance/index.md): Meet Amber, a kind paramedic. See her ambulance, help Jake after a tumble in the park, listen to a heartbeat and learn when to call 9-1-1. - [The Garbage Truck](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/garbage-truck/index.md): Meet Brayden and his big garbage truck: watch him tip a can into the scoop at the back, a blade squeeze the trash small, then recycling and compost. - [The Farmer](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/farmer/index.md): Follow one little corn seed with Farmer June and her granddaughter Suhayla, from her hand in spring to a harvest meal, then take a little tractor apart. Thank you, farmer! - [The Mail Carrier](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/mail-carrier/index.md): Follow Barbara, the mail carrier, from the post office to your door: a birthday card across the ocean, a parcel, a doorbell. Then spread the mail out on the table! ## About Bag of Wonder A free library of interactive 3D "look inside" science exhibits, made at Curiosity's Child, a licensed home daycare in Troy, Michigan. Secular and science-based; welcoming to all. - All exhibits and how we make them: https://bagofwonder.com/llms.txt - For grown-ups and AI assistants: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/about/ - To cite: "The Police Officer", Bag of Wonder, Curiosity's Child (Troy, Michigan). https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/police/