Neuroscientists, user experience designers and anthropologists are being drawn to work in the attractions industry. Their expertise is opening up the potential for us to create a new generation of even more immersive experiences which are emotionally rewarding
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
This month we reported on work by Disney Research which has created a haptic system that enables people to ‘feel’ fireworks using computerised water jets sprayed on flexible screens.
The technology has been developed for use by blind and visually impaired people, but is part of an emerging interest in harnessing the senses to create a new generation of sensory experiences for use in visitor attractions.
In this issue, we examine a number of projects in which experts are turning to science and neuroscience to find new ways to connect with guests and create more powerful, immersive experiences.
On page 16, neuroscience researcher Tedi Asher from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, talks to Attractions Management about using neuroscience to create the best experience for visitors – the aim being to display collections in a manner that complements the way the brain functions.
Asher’s work has been made possible by a grant from the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based private institute that works to elevate the arts and creative expression.
Applying the latest neuroscientific research and neuroaesthetic theory to enhance visitor experiences across the museum’s permanent collection, Asher will publish her findings so they can be shared with museums worldwide.
Elsewhere in this issue, the science behind sensory design and ways in which it can be harnessed to create compelling attractions is examined by our expert panel on page 82.
Composer Joel Beckerman, architect and writer Gordon Grice and researcher and anthropologist Scott A Lukas talk us through ways to understand the five senses and highlight how they can be used to create more resonant experiences.
They reveal fascinating sensory facts, for example: unlike most memories, sensory memories are not subject to ‘retroactive interference’ – ie, they can’t be disturbed or altered by memories which are acquired later, so your grandma’s cookies will always smell as good as they did on the day they were baked, when it comes to your memory of them.
When it comes to taste, experiments show people experience different flavours when drinking the same wine in different coloured environments – it tastes richer in a darker, room.
The main objective is to get all of the senses working together, combining aromatic elements with visual, auditory and tactile ones, to create a total experience which delivers ‘environmental authenticity’.
Understanding visitor psychology and how guests use our attractions can also feed into the science of safety, and on page 64, Dr Kathryn Woodcock of Ryerson University explains the theory of ‘human factors engineering’, looking at how to best design attractions to ensure people use them safely by adjusting and anticipating their perceptions of risk and danger.
Welcoming scientists into our industry will enable the creation of a new generation of safer and more engaging experiences, which will, in turn, make the memories of tomorrow.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Interview: Jane Cooper
We talked to Jane Cooper, COO
and president of Herschend Family
Entertainment, about the company
portfolio and all things Dollywood
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Neuroscientists, user experience designers and anthropologists are being drawn to work in the attractions industry. Their expertise is opening up the potential for us to create a new generation of even more immersive experiences which are emotionally rewarding
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
This month we reported on work by Disney Research which has created a haptic system that enables people to ‘feel’ fireworks using computerised water jets sprayed on flexible screens.
The technology has been developed for use by blind and visually impaired people, but is part of an emerging interest in harnessing the senses to create a new generation of sensory experiences for use in visitor attractions.
In this issue, we examine a number of projects in which experts are turning to science and neuroscience to find new ways to connect with guests and create more powerful, immersive experiences.
On page 16, neuroscience researcher Tedi Asher from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, talks to Attractions Management about using neuroscience to create the best experience for visitors – the aim being to display collections in a manner that complements the way the brain functions.
Asher’s work has been made possible by a grant from the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based private institute that works to elevate the arts and creative expression.
Applying the latest neuroscientific research and neuroaesthetic theory to enhance visitor experiences across the museum’s permanent collection, Asher will publish her findings so they can be shared with museums worldwide.
Elsewhere in this issue, the science behind sensory design and ways in which it can be harnessed to create compelling attractions is examined by our expert panel on page 82.
Composer Joel Beckerman, architect and writer Gordon Grice and researcher and anthropologist Scott A Lukas talk us through ways to understand the five senses and highlight how they can be used to create more resonant experiences.
They reveal fascinating sensory facts, for example: unlike most memories, sensory memories are not subject to ‘retroactive interference’ – ie, they can’t be disturbed or altered by memories which are acquired later, so your grandma’s cookies will always smell as good as they did on the day they were baked, when it comes to your memory of them.
When it comes to taste, experiments show people experience different flavours when drinking the same wine in different coloured environments – it tastes richer in a darker, room.
The main objective is to get all of the senses working together, combining aromatic elements with visual, auditory and tactile ones, to create a total experience which delivers ‘environmental authenticity’.
Understanding visitor psychology and how guests use our attractions can also feed into the science of safety, and on page 64, Dr Kathryn Woodcock of Ryerson University explains the theory of ‘human factors engineering’, looking at how to best design attractions to ensure people use them safely by adjusting and anticipating their perceptions of risk and danger.
Welcoming scientists into our industry will enable the creation of a new generation of safer and more engaging experiences, which will, in turn, make the memories of tomorrow.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Interview: Jane Cooper
We talked to Jane Cooper, COO
and president of Herschend Family
Entertainment, about the company
portfolio and all things Dollywood
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
Alterface Alterface’s Creative Division team is
seasoned in concept and ride development,
as well as storyte [more...]
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
