Multisenso Rail - A multisensory offering at Train World

November 2022

The Multisenso Rail offering is one for everyone, but originally developed for people with intellectual disabilities. A narrator will take them on the train of engineer Alfons and stoker Raoul. It is a multisensory walk that lets them feel what it was like to ride on a steam train.

Born of necessity

According to the Michelin Green Guide, Train World is an absolute must-see in Brussels. Reason? The museum's unique scenography, a black box where soundscapes and lighting effects illuminate the collection in some surprising ways. And although the museum has been accessible to people who are not mobile since its opening, the scenography still contains some physical barriers, such as for people with intellectual disabilities.

Moreover, the way we convey museum content still leads to exclusion too often. A guide will constantly use (historical) frames of reference (e.g. the 19th century) that not everyone is familiar with. Even if he/she allows for some imagination, interactively engages the group and tells stories that captivate you, a guided tour rests upon knowledge. Giving a tour to a group that is not familiar with these frames of reference is a difficult job. This was how the challenging idea of developing an immersive package for people with intellectual disabilities to enjoy Train World was gradually born.

"Broadly speaking, we transfer knowledge. Even if our visitors want to go through an experience, we do this largely in a verbal and explanatory way. Visitors with intellectual disabilities, on the other hand, really need to be able to do something." (Marie-Eve, guide and narrator at Train World)

On an equal footing

Train World began exchanging views on this need with FARO, the Flemish Institution for Cultural Heritage, in 2018. FARO then launched numerous pilot projects around heritage and well-being. Four conditions were crucial:

• 1) to develop a collaboration between a heritage organisation and well-being partner
• 2) that is sustainable (allows for sharing knowledge),
• 3) evidence-based and
• 4) multisensory.

"Multisensory work with our target audience is very important. You can make some very vague concepts very concrete for them, etc." (Cleo, supervisor at Day Centre De Ark)

We were looking for some lasting partnerships with motivated healthcare organisations.  In our talks with various institutions, we listened to our gut. We were looking for people and organisations who would become spontaneously enthusiastic about our pitch. Financial resources were not expected, but time and a permanent point of contact were.

"There was a request to work together around an inclusion project." (Joke, supervisor at Reception Centre HAMA)

We soon felt that we were on the same wavelength with Care Centre De Ark (NL) and Reception Centre HAMA (FR), two Brussels institutions. Both care centres wanted clients to have fun and feel good about themselves. They felt it was important to let go of gaining knowledge and leave more room for wonder. In short, a product that calms, or if needed, stimulates their clients.

"We were able to give our input and this was taken into account."

(Joke, supervisor at Reception Centre Hama)

In order to safeguard the common goal, listening to each other was very important. Hama and De Ark expressed what was important to their clients. The multisensory experience had to be playful and connective; advice on the selection and development of sensory stimuli was relevant. Choosing the story (of an engineer and a stoker) that we 'translated' into multisensory was teamwork. Together, we rewrote the text in clear language and removed any unnecessary, complex content with the help of 'Wablieft' and 'Facile à Lire et à Comprendre' (FALC).

From prototyping to small steam locomotive with narrators

We wanted to engage all the senses and link every possible stimulus from the story to an appropriate object.  To do so, we used our own collection and searched on tweedehands.be. What we did not find, we had made (e.g. smell). In order to match the package as closely as possible to the target group, we wanted to involve the day centre clients in selecting the objects.

We planned a prototyping process where we tested objects with the target group to see whether the objects had an effect on their senses. The coronavirus crisis threw a spanner in the works and forced us to revise our approach. The process ended up running through only two supervisors at the day centres. Only when we had collected almost all the objects did we organise a testing day with the clients. Based on their responses, we were able to further develop the package.

Finally, all these objects had to be put into a playful, convenient holder. We came upon a catering trolley once used on Wagons-Lits trains. Along with Amadeo Kollectif, we pimped the trolley into a handy and fun steam locomotive.

To deliver a story in a multisensory way, we need some storytellers who can work in a tailored way. Our guides have hardly any experience with this target group. That made it important to provide some training around this target group. Interested guides were given the opportunity to attend some training.

And now … making it sustainable

Now, we can host groups of people with intellectual disabilities. Over the next few months, there will be some further comments on the objects, narrators, duration of the package, etc. With this feedback, we will improve the package. This should not be an end point for Multisenso Rail. This offering is of interest to other target groups as well.

What does the programme do with children in school or leisure contexts, non-native newcomers, blind people, deaf people, retired people, people with ASD, people with dementia, etc.? This is how Train World is aiming to build an inclusive audience policy. Multisenso Rail is something we see as a lever for investing in this.

Impact measurement

One of the conditions for the pilot programme was impact measurement. The intention is to measure (and evaluate) the impact of the Multisenso Rail on the well-being of clients and their supervisors in the short and longer term. This is not an easy exercise, because it takes some extra effort from the supervisors at the care facilities. The methodology to be deployed for this has not yet been determined. In order to measure it properly, we mainly need a lot of data, and we do not yet have this.

Partners

Multisenso Rail is part of a series of pilot projects by FARO around heritage collections, health and well-being. The main partners for Multisenso Rail are Care Centre De Ark and Reception Centre HAMA. In order to achieve it, we collaborated with Amadeo Kollectif, Peter De Cupere, Wablieft and Inclusion (Facile à Lire et à Comprendre).