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[what is it]
A sensory play system made up of permanent museum exhibits, pop-up cart activities for outreach events, and an at-home web experience for sensory play at home.
why this project?
Today young children (and their parents) have more opportunities for screen time than ever. This screen time can bring immense value, but sometimes kids (and parents) need to unplug & find the magic in our physical world. My team was inspired by the gigantic role our senses play in understanding the world around us. This inspiration is what we pass on to those who interact with the exhibit: magic distilled from our scientific, physical world.
why this project?
My team was inspired by the gigantic role our senses play in understanding the world around us. This inspiration is what we pass on to those who interact with the exhibit: magic distilled from our scientific, physical world.
the full system
In-museum exhibits, tabletop outreach activities and accessible web resources come together to grow Kidspace’s reach.
exhibits
sight
Design Details
full exhibit includes 3 “sight” walls
wall placement creates immersive environment
each wall consists of frame + curved acrylic panels
panels are easy to exchange / replace
panels may be smooth or textured for distortion
panel texture depends on heatforming mold used
spinners allow for interactivity & color mixing
Learning Frameworks
cognitive | mixing, naming colors cognitive | asking questions about foreign materials physical | running between frame structures physical | manipulating spinners to mix colors social & emotional | peek-a-boo with parent social & emotional | shared space with peers
sound
Design Details
full exhibit includes 3 “sound” walls
option to distinguish walls by object material
found objects reminiscent of family home: familiar but new
mostly natural materials: metals, woods
objects interchangeable: easy / inexpensive to replace
gap between object & wall designed for ideal resonance
connect rod in order to attach spinning components
Learning Frameworks
cognitive | connecting material to sound cognitive | cause & effect: impact to sound physical | dancing to sounds physical | manipulating sound tools social & emotional | pretend play: sounds & objects social & emotional | making sounds collaboratively
touch
Design Details
full exhibit includes 3 “touch” fountains
size, shape & texture allows climbing
whole-body touch sensation
poured concrete: molds have various textures
water glides over sculptures; seamless sheen
uses low-flow water pump & recycling catch basin
Learning Frameworks
cognitive | cause & effect: touch to water movement cognitive | relationship between materials & friction physical | climbing on textured spheres physical | balancing on textured spheres social & emotional | pretend play: lava, alligator, etc social & emotional | sharing space
outreach
sound
Pop-Up Exhibit Activity
To translate the sound exhibit into a pop-up, we designed sound boards that kids could build themselves. Basically an analog mixer board. sound blocks range in materials, textures and thicknesses, allowing kids to mix and match while learning about how form effects sound.
Design Details
modular design: wooden frame, varied sound tiles
new sound tiles can be developed / added any time
reconfigurable for an open-ended play experience
not a traditional instrument: no wrong way to play
option for both flat & raised tiles: maximum variety
touch
Pop-Up Exhibit Activity
To translate the touch exhibit into a pop-up, we designed textured boards with gestural patterns. Kids can feel the texture and then use common art supplies to transfer the texture to paper via rubbings. This transfer allows them to see how a 3D texture can become a 2D pattern.
textures lend themselves to pretend play / storytelling
pieces stack neatly for easy transport
sight
Pop-Up Exhibit Activity
To translate the sight exhibit into a pop-up with new value, we swapped acrylic panels out for small film gels. We also designed a simple clear acrylic stand which allows kids to draw on paper while looking through film gels on the stand—making certain regions of their drawing disappear.
Design Details
clear acrylic stand for stacking / layering film gels
inexpensive film gels as loose parts
film gels can be held & carried to explore the space
film gels can be organized to create pictures / stories
explore inside the cart!
parental education
signage
Many parents avoid immersive sensory play because it tends to be (quite frankly) annoying and messy! Our system includes signage to help parents understand that the value of sensory play to a growing child’s brain greatly outranks its annoyance factor. At the exhibit this takes the form of signage specific to each sensory component. In outreach this information would be printed and given to children / parents as a take-home sheet.
web / print
More in-depth information on the benefits of sensory play will also be available on the museum’s website. Here parents will also be able to browse ideas for at-home sensory play activities that they can do with their child / children.
RESEARCH & PROTOTYPING recap
One of the most exciting times during our research and prototyping was being able to observe the parent / child interactions that our exhibit prototypes facilitated. We saw higher levels of involvement than with many of the current exhibits. Children asked their parents questions about materials, and parents were given a platform to explain simple lessons, like how a spoon covered in yarn will make a softer sound than one left with metal exposed.
material exploration that led to sight exhibit concept (film gels)
codesign session in the museum's workshop, building "things that move"
watching parents and children interact together at the sound exhibit prototype
using cardboard to determine proper sizing for the outreach cart
whiteboard ideation for how Kidspace could bring the exhibit to production
final playtime & photoshoot with neighborhood children and our Sens:ation prototypes
