Last year, we had the pleasure of working with Enfield Town Library to create a brand-new sensory zone within their children’s area. Fast forward to August 2023, we were invited to the grand opening of the space with the wonderful staff from the library, members of Enfield Council and of course lots of little ones ready to explore the new space.
The morning was filled with lots of excitement, and as the day went on more and more Enfield Town residents arrived to see the official unveiling. After speeches from Lee Shelsher (Head of Customer Solutions) and Cllr Chinelo Anyanwu (Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Spaces, Culture & Local Economy), the ribbon cutting ceremony commenced, declaring the space officially open!
After the ribbon cutting ceremony, the excited visitors were now free to access the zone and explore the new and fascinating sensory features. The library staff joined in to provide demonstrations of the equipment to the children, including a fun nursery rhyme sing-a-long and dance with our LED Infinity Panel.
The goal of this project was to create a multi-sensory zone for the visitors of the children’s library, with a range of sensory-stimulating equipment. As the Enfield Town library is accessible to all members of the public, it was important to provide a safe and inclusive space for everyone to enjoy. The range of features include interactive products to induce sensory stimulation, educational equipment to aid with development and relaxing elements to help encourage a sense of calm and relaxation.
For ease of use, the variety of equipment included is all wired back to one centralised control panel, meaning that the Enfield Town library staff can select which product’s they would like to activate to suit different groups of users accessing the zone. This means that the library can now create a wider variety of sensory or themed sessions for groups of children across specific ages and abilities.
Let’s take a look at some of the fantastic sensory features included in the new space.
Sensor Floor
One of the most popular pieces of equipment with users on the day, was the interactive sensor floor. The sensor floor is an interactive projection system, which is secured to the ceiling and projected down on the floor.
With the incorporation of technology, the sensor floor will project a variety of images onto the floor and uses motion tracking to allow users to interact and change what happens with the moving image.
The sensor floor includes lots of interactive games and scenarios, such as colour selection games (as shown in the image), musical instruments and more.
Solar Explorer Panel
Our Solar Explorer Panel is a way for visitors to travel through and explore space!
Using the interactive discs, users can push the explorers craft through space and land on different planets. The planets can also be rotated to allow the spacecraft to explore different flight paths.
Not only is the explorer panel a great source of fun for users to explore, it’s also a fantastic educational tool for discovering the solar system and developing core skills such as fine motor and visual processing.
Four Way Interactive Sound Panel
The Four Way Interactive Sound Panel is a fun, interactive activity that uses a combination of auditory and visual elements.
The panel is split into four sections, with each section showing a picture of an animal (as displayed in the image) or object. When users press the button, a sound will be projected that is linked to the image.
For example, the selection of animals on display at the library were sea creatures including dolphins and whales.
The sound panel can also be customised with your own sounds and pictures, which will be a great resource should the library staff want to incorporate different themes or even characters from books!
Borealis Tube
The Borealis Tube is a water-free alternative to our traditional ‘Bubble Tube’. LED lights are positioned throughout the tube, creating bright dancing light sequences.
Users can also interact with and control the tube using a four-way hand switch, which will change the colours.
This feature was also a big highlight for many of the visitors on the day, who enjoyed watching the colour changes and sensory-stimulating effects.
Not only do Borealis Tubes hold interactive benefits, but they are also a relaxing feature – adding to the calming atmosphere of the library space.
Overall, it was a brilliant morning spent at Enfield Town Library and a fantastic opportunity to see new sensory installation bought to life by the residents of Enfield.
Thank you to Enfield City Council for allowing us to be a part of such a magical project – we hope it brings lots of joy and special memories in the years to come!
For more details regarding the Enfield Town Library and the sensory space, visit the enfield.gov.uk.
