La Bulle
What is it?
La Bulle (the bubble) is a small room in the “Musée National de la Marine”, inspired by the SNOEZELEN method, and dedicated to be a resting space for visitors that might get overstimulated during their visit in the museum. Its design is made of soft curves, wooden materials and diffuse lights of colour.
This separate room is a sensory space, initially created for visitors with mental disability or on the autism spectrum. It is freely accessible to all visitors, located at the heart of the museum’s permanent exhibition space. A visitor can use the room to isolate and self-soothe during its visit.
The room allows 3 persons at the same time, and is composed of several sensory tools to soothe or stimulate senses:
- A bubble column
- Objects to smell
- Objects to touch and manipulate
- A weighted blanket
- LED curtains
3 different light and hearing scenarios can be triggered, to either soothe or stimulate senses.
Why is it important? / How can it help the professionals of the cultural sector?
This sensory room is the only example of this type in a French museum at this date.
The museum also worked with person with disabilities and organised 2-3 tests of this room with them. The process went as far as creating a temporary room out of cardboard to receive feedback before starting to build the actual room. This ensures this project is a good reference for professionals looking to create something similar.
It is also a great example of a solution that is adjacent to the collections, not part of it, showing accessibility is not always about how to give the visitor access to knowledge, but sometimes just about providing a safe space.
Project /organisation name
Where (country / region)
Type of institution
Permanent or temporary exhibition / project
Date
Physical / digital
Public targeted
Universal accessibility / Autism spectrum
Device/ inclusive features
A physical room
Collaborations / partners
Inclu&sens
Funding
Museum’s internal budget for its new museography
Replicability/adaptability
While this project is a quite large one, it is possible to replicate the same idea at different scale. A similar sensory space doesn’t have to be a separate room, it can be a nook, a bench, etc.
Websites
Photos / videos to illustrate the good practice
Results / impact
The museum has received no official feedbacks yet, but the SNOEZELEN method has some. «Snoezelen offers a time of progressive and qualitative discovery, necessary for the psychomotor development of the child», Sidonie Fillion (psychomotrician and trainer Snoezelen for early childhood).
The room has a very good impact on visitors being overstimulated by their visit and the environment, fulfilling very efficiently its role at providing a safe and calm space.
Though aimed especially at visitors with mental disabilities and on the spectrum of autism, the room is also very efficient as soothing children, and the museum received positive feedback from several parents.