Title: Ocean

• Location: FNUG, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
• Date: September 2022
• Role: Curator and Project Lead
• Concept: Ocean transformed an indoor space into an immersive sensory universe, inviting young visitors to experience the sea through touch, sight, sound, and taste. The aim was to explore the wonders of marine environments by engaging all the senses, fostering an appreciation for the complexity of oceanic life and the impact of human activities on marine ecosystems.
• Key Elements: The exhibition featured sand pits, sensory boxes with wet and dry seaweed, and a ‘wave’ experience created with a large fabric to simulate ocean currents. Interactive stations included touch tanks with shells, small rocks, and kinetic sand, as well as a live-stream of an underwater camera in a local fjord. Sounds of waves and marine creatures enveloped the space, creating an evocative auditory atmosphere. The exhibition also offered costumes for children to role-play as various sea animals, such as crabs and starfish, enhancing their engagement through imaginative play.
• Collaborators: Katrine Rørth (Designer, FNUG), Stine Mariegaard (Postdoc, FNUG), Eduardo Abrantes (Sound Artist and Postdoc, FNUG), and members of the FNUG research team, including Lisbet Foged and Katrine Bergkvist Borch. Support for the event was provided by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Region Syddanmark’s Educational Fund.
• Audience or Impact: The Ocean sensory universe attracted children from local daycare centers and schools, providing a hands-on learning experience that encouraged exploration and environmental awareness. The exhibition’s approach to sensory engagement has informed ongoing research on informal learning environments, emphasizing the importance of multi-sensory experiences in early science education.

Children create a stone reef with small gaps between the rocks, providing hiding places for small fish to escape from larger predators, for example crabs. (Photos by Robert Wengler).

Documentation report is available in Danish: https://www.sdu.dk/da/forskning/stem/nyheder/det-gaadefulde-sanseunivers