This Wednesday, we launched our sensory installation. Safe to say, I think it was pretty successful.
Beforehand, I created some signs to post around the IDM hall so that people would be able to locate the installation. However, due to some printing issues, we were not able to get the signs on time.
Cyrene and I started to setup at 1:30, which carried on until 3PM. First, we had to install the Velcro strips to install the black drops along the glass wall and the door. At first, I didn’t have much high hopes for the adhesive to stick to the curtain too well. The curtains, to my surprise, were able to stay up throughout the duration of the event. We had to set up the lights and speakers, where with different table positions in order to optimize the light aesthetics and acoustics. Also, we did not have anything to contain the felt and essential oils, which paved us to use a diffuser. We chose lavender as the scent since we figured that lavender is conventionally used in calm settings. Though the setup was ready an hour later than the initial start time and had to make up for aversions from our original plan, it didn’t seem to hurt the overall success of our installation run.
In order to compensate for the lack of promotion and signage, we resorted to advertising our room to people passing by the room. Through this method, we yielded some sort of success, as we were able to get 7 people in total to try out our room.
During our runtime, there were some interesting things that I noted. First, a good number of people who came also had a friend accompanying them. Though the room was intended for an individual experience, we gave it the benefit of the doubt allowed people to be accompanied by their friend. In retrospect, doing so proved to be the right choice, as people often destress more effectively with the presence of a loved one to emotionally support them. Also, in one instance, when I asked a man walking by if he wanted to try experiencing our room, we peered his head in only to revolt in the intense smell of the lavender. “I have spring allergies so taking in any more scent would [not be good for me]”, he said. This is important to note because it reflects a flaw in the accommodation of using a diffuser, or lack thereof.
Chart of all of the participants and observations/the feedback we received
| Participant | Notes/Observations |
|---|---|
| Student | “wall, where you are facing, could use a little more things”; “strobe light could be more centered”; “i feel like i needed this. i was stressed before” |
| Staff | declined to participate, saying that the scent used in the diffuser would worsen the spring allergies they were experiencing at the time |
| Student | enjoyed it, saying “you would need to have more of these” |
| Student | noted that the lavender scent from the diffuser reminded them of their acupuncturist |
| Student (Party of 2) | stated that they are neurodivergent and that they listened to alpha/beta frequencies during the day and theta frequencies to sleep; critiqued the soundscape saying that it was “too distracting” and that they needed something to “zone them in” |
| Student (Party of 2) | suggested the use of audio meditation guides and limb concentrations, in response to previous participant’s feedback |
| Student | was intrigued by the big pharaoh toy; said that it “healed my broken heart” and gave each of us a hug |
| Student | noted that the strobe light was too bright and “in my face”; said that it was nice to take a nap in here and that they get lost in their thoughts; suggested that the room needed more soundproofing of sorts |
Overall, given our shortcomings, I thought it was very successful. I can’t wait to do a relaunch sometime this semester!
