Sensory Experience Kit for Families at Woodland Park Zoo

Authors:

• Shizheng Miao, Museology Graduate Program
• Chair: Jessica Luke
• Amy Wagenfeld
• Alexander Jones

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Abstract:

Everyone experiences fluctuations in sensory sensitivity—sometimes seeking more stimulation, other times needing less—but these shifts often go unnoticed. In outdoor spaces like zoos, fluctuating factors such as weather, crowds, and sensory input can make it especially hard for children to regulate how they feel and respond. The Sensory Experience Kit was created to help families visiting Woodland Park Zoo navigate sensory highs and lows, promoting comfort, focus, and deeper engagement with nature. The kit includes four themed booklets, a caregiver guide, and a sensory map. Each booklet is tied to a habitat and offers sensory-based activities organized into low, medium, and high intensity levels. Activities encourage children to engage through movement, touch, and observation. Kits are housed in Zoomazium, the zoo’s play area for kids, and occasionally offered at the zoo entrance for wider reach. The project was shaped by a front-end evaluation with caregivers and a formative evaluation with families with target age group children. Feedback guided the design and refinement of accessibility, functionality, and content design. By recognizing sensory balance as a universal need, this project offers a more inclusive way to support children’s well-being in nature-based environments. It also highlights the importance of tailoring sensory support to specific environments.

Poster:

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Project Deliverable:

Sensory Experience Kit for Families at Woodland Park Zoo

Video Presentation