Throughout early 2022, Real Ideas have been working with local partners across Plymouth to develop their offer for groups of people with additional sensory, learning, or physical needs as part of our wider commitment to delivering inclusive, accessible experiences. Having identified the huge potential of the Market Hall immersive dome to deliver sensory experiences they have been working with Cann Bridge, a Local Authority maintained Special School in Plymouth which aims to meet the needs of children and young people with complex learning needs. All pupils at Cann Bridge have severe or profound learning difficulties and many also have additional needs such as Downs Syndrome, Autistic Spectrum Conditions, a physical disability, or medical condition.
Teachers from Cann Bridge have worked with the team from Real Ideas to deliver a range of sensory experiences within the Market Hall immersive dome, utilising the facilities state-of-the-art technical capabilities in 360 visuals and spatialised sound. The first visit took place in February as part of Cann Bridge’s Creativity Week and saw 8 children and 8 teachers have a 45-minute immersive, sensory experience in the dome seeing a wide range of content and see their very own moth come to life as part of the Moths To A Flame Interactive colouring activity, which first launched at Illuminate 2021.
The 8 children that attended were from different school year groups and each had vastly differing levels of need but the reaction from all was the same – overwhelmingly positive and magical. One of the eight visiting students was a blind young girl with synaesthesia who told her teacher she was able to see colours when experiencing the immersive audio and truly felt like she was under water in another marine focused film. The visit solidified to both the team at Real Ideas and at Cann Bridge the massive potential of immersive technologies to create awe-inspiring, sensory experiences for a wide range of audiences. Real Ideas have developed an on-going partnership with Cann Bridge and will continue to work closely with them to develop their offer for those with additional needs and to ensure that inclusivity and accessibility is rooted in everything they do.
This activity is part of the iMayflower project and has been supported by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who fund the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.
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