In this paper, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of creating responsive environments with Electroactive Polymers (EAPs). Our previous research on tools and methods for EAPs enabled us to develop two public installations: SOLO and Electric Animal Plant. Going beyond the demonstration of EAPs, these projects explore the aesthetics and interactivity of such shape-changing materials. We explain actuating and sensing capabilities of EAPs in these works, and we reflect on the response of the participants to the installations.

We present the design approach and evaluation of our prototype called "Ranger". Ranger is a robotic toy box that aims to motivate young children to tidy up their room. We evaluated Ranger in 14 families with 31 children (2-10 years) using the Wizard-of-Oz technique. This case study explores two different robot behaviors (proactive vs. reactive) and their impact on children's interaction with the robot and the tidying behavior. The analysis of the video recorded scenarios shows that the proactive robot tended to encourage more playful and explorative behavior in children, whereas the reactive robot triggered more tidying behavior. Our findings hold implications for the design of interactive robots for children, and may also serve as an example of evaluating an early version of a prototype in a real-world setting.