With Cooperativa ORSA in Milan, the magic room steps out of the room. A mobile SENSEi kit, packed in a case, travels to six municipal preschools with the programme “All’avventura tra i sensi” (An adventure through the senses), bringing immersive experiences even where there is no dedicated space.
Even before that, the collaboration brings multisensory and inclusive activities to the summer camps of the Comune di Milano (Milan City Council). An example of how research can become a widespread local service.
The context: bringing immersion where there is no room
ORSA works with the Comune di Milano in educational services. The need is clear: to offer preschool children immersive and shared experiences that include everyone, regardless of their sensory abilities.
Not every school has a space to transform permanently. The answer is to turn the perspective around: not the children going to the room, but the room going to the children.
The project: a magic room that travels
A case holds everything needed to turn a classroom into a world to explore: images flood the walls and the floor and follow the movements of the children, who do not need to wear anything. Twenty multisensory activities are ready to use.
An operator trained through a dedicated course sets up the system, leads the workshop and moves it on to the next school. The schools are not mere recipients: through a form they choose themes and backgrounds, so that each workshop builds on the educational projects already under way.
The experiences: “All’avventura tra i sensi”
The programme offers a journey to faraway worlds, from the depths of the sea to the glaciers, with animated stories and characters representing the senses. Here are some of the themes chosen by the schools:
- the woods and the meadow, with the changing seasons and the sounds of nature;
- the sea, to explore by moving across the floor;
- the city and its spaces;
- motor and sensory activities, to play with the whole body.
Groups range from 5 to 25 children: the same activity can host a small, close-knit group or an entire class section.
The summer camps of the Comune di Milano
For two summers SENSEi brings multisensory and inclusive projects to the municipal summer camps, with eleven trained and supervised digital facilitators. The goal is simple and ambitious: that every child can play at least one activity.
The link with research
The idea of a multisensory environment that moves does not come about by chance. At Politecnico di Milano the MOVES project studies precisely how to go beyond permanently wired rooms, and how a nomadic solution can support learning through play (MOVES, On the Effects of a Nomadic Multisensory Solution).
From the Magic Room to Magika, the SENSEi research group builds up, at Politecnico di Milano and then at SUPSI, a body of more than forty papers: ORSA’s case is its lightest and most portable version. The full list is on the Research page.
What changes
- Six preschools share the same technology, without having to set up a permanent room;
- the schools co-design the content, choosing themes linked to their own curriculum;
- trained operators, first eleven digital facilitators in the summer camps, then a dedicated operator in the schools, make the service self-sufficient;
- inclusion is built into the project: activities designed so that every child can take part.
Why is this a significant case?
You do not always need a permanent room to get started. A mobile kit allows several schools to share the same experience and try it out before investing in a permanent environment. For ideas for ages 3 to 6, read the page SENSEi for preschool and the collection of multisensory activities.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a mobile version of SENSEi?
Yes. A portable kit makes it possible to turn different classrooms into immersive environments, without any building work.
Does every school need a technician?
No, a trained operator who sets up the system and leads the activities is enough.
Can schools choose the content?
Yes. Themes and backgrounds are chosen according to the curriculum and the children’s age.
How much does an environment like this cost?
It depends on the configuration: space, experiences, training and services. Contact us for an assessment.
Do you work in a school, a centre or a museum and want an environment like this? Tell us about your project: we start from the needs of the people who will use it.
