Abstract
A consequence of rapid urbanisation is the ever-limited availability of green space in cities, limit-ing children's access to nature and associated learning opportunities. To address this issue, the present paper describes the design of a learning environment called Senseed. The proposed pro-ject will introduce urban children aged 3-6 years to sensory games designed to increase their in-teraction with China's natural environment, thus enhancing their interest in and understanding of nature. The study combines interviews, a questionnaire, and case studies to identify environmen-tal education issues for pre-school learners, employing exhibition settings as a healthy and engag-ing multidisciplinary approach to pre-schoolers' needs. Based on the theme of seed propagation, Senseed encourages pre-schoolers to play visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory games, which are respectively assigned to four separate rooms. Unlike traditional displays, Senseed's four rooms introduce natural elements of seed propagation-such as wind and sunlight-into these games. Children are encouraged to collect seeds and nurture and observe them at home to cultivate un-derstanding and build emotional connections.
Keywords
environmental education, interactive experience, multi-sensory environment, pre-school education
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs_lxd2021.03.172
Citation
Fu, G.(2021) Senseed: A multisensory environment design for urban pre-schoolers in China to learn about plant seeds, in Bohemia, E., Nielsen, L.M., Pan, L., Börekçi, N.A.G.Z., Zhang, Y. (eds.), Learn X Design 2021: Engaging with challenges in design education, 24-26 September, Shandong University of Art & Design, Jinan, China. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs_lxd2021.03.172
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Senseed: A multisensory environment design for urban pre-schoolers in China to learn about plant seeds
A consequence of rapid urbanisation is the ever-limited availability of green space in cities, limit-ing children's access to nature and associated learning opportunities. To address this issue, the present paper describes the design of a learning environment called Senseed. The proposed pro-ject will introduce urban children aged 3-6 years to sensory games designed to increase their in-teraction with China's natural environment, thus enhancing their interest in and understanding of nature. The study combines interviews, a questionnaire, and case studies to identify environmen-tal education issues for pre-school learners, employing exhibition settings as a healthy and engag-ing multidisciplinary approach to pre-schoolers' needs. Based on the theme of seed propagation, Senseed encourages pre-schoolers to play visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory games, which are respectively assigned to four separate rooms. Unlike traditional displays, Senseed's four rooms introduce natural elements of seed propagation-such as wind and sunlight-into these games. Children are encouraged to collect seeds and nurture and observe them at home to cultivate un-derstanding and build emotional connections.