Activities

1) If you are introduced to a person who has a sensory disability, what are your first three thoughts if this person is:

– Blind or partially sighted

– Hard of hearing

– Missing the sense of taste and smell

– Missing the sense of touch

 

2) Ask a friend to give you an object (but don’t look at it just now). Use only one sense at a time, describe anything you:

– Hear

– Smell

– Taste

– Touch

– See


Did you describe the same or different object features? What about the words you used – same or different?

 

3) Using all the senses together. Ask a friend to give you and object. Then describe the object (and record your description). Listen back on your recording, did you describe the object:

– As a whole, not thinking of which of the senses you used

– As a whole, using two or more senses and, if so, which ones

– Referring mainly to visual features (e.g., colour)

– Referring mainly to tactile features (e.g., temperature)

– Referring mainly to auditory features (e.g., a specific sound)

– Referring mainly to smell or taste

 

See: The senses and the relationship between them – the philosophical approach

 

4) Choose two or three objects – just any ones – and place them on a table straight in front of you. Now close your eyes and explore the first object you find by touch.

– What is it?

– If unsure, do you recognise parts of it?

– What confuses you?

– Does the object make a sound? Does it have a smell?

– How big is the object?

 

5) Close your eyes. Now choose an object with your hands and explore it.

– What texture does it have; what temperature; what shape, and what size?

– Does it make a sound? Does it have a smell?

– Is there anything in particular that fascinates you?

Now open your eyes. Does the object look like you thought it would – why/why not?

 

6) Close your eyes and get a friend to give you an object. Using touch only, explore the shape – and only the shape – of this object.

– What is the global shape?

– Are there any shapes within the global shape?

– Are there any distinctive lines or edges in the shape(s)?


Now open your eyes and explore the same object by vision only.

– What is the global shape?

– Are there any shapes within the global shape?

– Are there any distinctive lines or edges in the shape(s)?


For a two-dimensional version of this activity, please explore something embroidered. Or get a friend to make a shape (outlined; filled) using a thin steel wire or play dough.

 

See: The senses and the relationship between them – the scientific approach

 

7) Now, let’s taste the word. You have two words “Bouba” and “Kiki”. Say them out loud, so you know what they sound like. Then, serve yourself some fruit and chocolate and decide if they taste like “Bouba” or “Kiki”:

– Lemon or grapefruit

– Banana

– Strawberry

– White chocolate

– Dark chocolate

– Tomato


If you served yourself the fruit and chocolate from a round place, try repeating the “Bouba/Kiki-tasting” from an angular plate (square or triangle), and vice versa.

 

8) Smell one of your perfumes or soaps. Describe the scent. Do you associate anything with the scent – what? Talk to a friend and hear if they have the same association.

 

9) Close your eyes and block your nose (e.g., with a nose clip). Then, ask a friend to serve you some fruit, chocolate, biscuits, and sparkling water (separately, one piece at a time).

– What do they taste like?

– What is the texture?

– If you have to associate them with something, what would that be?

 

See: Crossmodal correspondences between the senses

 

10) Open the doors to your wardrobe and close your eyes. Use touch only and explore your tops.

– What do they feel like? Describe the texture(s) on one of them.

– What is it made of?

– Compare the texture(s) to those of a different item, and describe the difference.

– What do the items smell like?

– With your eyes still closed, what is their colour(s)?


Now, open your eyes and describe the texture. Which sense – touch or vision gives the most information?

 

11) Find a set of keys and a doormat/rug. Stand on a hard floor (e.g., wood, stone, tiles, or linoleum) and drop the keys.

– What does it sound like? Describe the sound.


Next, drop the keys on the doormat/rug.

– What does it sound like? Describe the sound.


Try again, dropping other objects and varying the surfaces.


Get a friend to drop the items somewhere, point to where you heard them falling. How did you do?

 

12) Find two cups or glasses of different materials and sizes. Close your eyes and pour cold water into them, for example, from the tap – one cup/glass at a time.

– What does it sound like? Describe the sound(s).

– Does the material change the sound(s)? If so, how?

– Does the size change the sound(s)? If so, how?


Try again with juice or milk. Does it sound different than the cold water? And try changing the speed too – any difference in sound?

 

See: Vision, haptic touch, and hearing

 

13) Together with three friends, visit a place you all find interesting, for example, a museum, a shopping centre, or the seaside. When you get there, decide who is going to wear a blindfold, who is going to wear noise-cancelling earphones (or earphones with loud white noise or music), who is going to wear both, and who is not going to wear either. Make sure everybody can record themselves. Record from the same place (together, standing at least one metre apart or, individually, one after the other). Try recording for two to three minutes each.

– While recording, describe everything you hear and/or see.

– Play the recordings with your friends, and discuss what was different and what was similar.


Alternatively, do this activity using the recordings in our blog post on sensory mismatch.

 

14) Together with three friends, visit a flower shop, bakery, or coffee shop, When you get there, decide who is going to wear a blindfold, who is going to wear noise-cancelling earphones (or earphones with loud white noise or music), who is going to wear both, and who is not going to wear either. Make sure everybody can record themselves. Record from the same place (together, standing at least one metre apart or, individually, one after the other). Try recording for two to three minutes each.

– While recording, describe everything you perceive; including the scents.

– Play the recordings with your friends, and discuss what was different and what was similar.


Alternatively, do this activity while eating or drinking something.

 

15) Together with three friends, decide on five places you all know very well and, next, who is going to wear a blindfold, who is going to wear noise-cancelling earphones (or earphones with loud white noise or music), who is going to wear both, and who is not going to wear either. Make sure everybody can record themselves. Also, decide on different time slots (to make sure you do not bump into each other while recording). Then, without telling anybody which place, visit one of the five places in the time slot you were given and make two recordings: one without you describing the environment and one with you describing it – two to three minutes per recording.

– Play the recording without descriptions and ask the others which place this is.

– Do not let them know if they were correct or not.

– Play the recording again, now with the descriptions and ask them which place.

– Tell them if they were correct or not. And, if they were wrong, ask them what information they would have needed to be able to recognise it.

 

See: Sensory mismatch

 

16) Close your eyes and get a friend to give you an object. Using only your hands (no vision), explore the object. Once you have a picture of the object in your mind’s eye, give it back to your friend (eyes still closed) and ask them to hide it. When your friend has confirmed the object is hidden, open your eyes. Now, with your eye open, draw the object from memory.

– Which object features did you draw – the global outline, only specific parts, textures, etc.?

– Which tactile features were easy to draw?

– Were there any tactile features that you were not able to draw? If so, which?

– Ask your friend to show you the object. Does your drawing resemble the object? Why/why not?

 

17) Play a piece of music or ask a friend to say the word “bouba” or “kiki” out loud without telling you in advance which one. Draw the first thing you associate with the sound.

– What did you draw – long lines, curves, angles, rhythms, colours, textures, etc.?


For a tactile version of this activity, use a tactile drawing kit, thin steel wire, or play dough.

 

18) Close your eyes and think of an object, a scene from nature, or a pet. Without vision, using only your hands, create a drawing or model of your object, scene, or pet using a tactile drawing kit, thin steel wire, play dough, or something similar. Then, open your eyes.

–  Does your drawing/model resemble your memory of the object, scene, or pet? Why/why not?

– Ask a friend to explore your drawing/model using only their hands (no vision). What do they enjoy touching? Do they recognise the object, scene, or pet in your drawing/model? Do you have to explain anything? If so, what?

– Ask a different or the same friend to explore your drawing/model using only vision (no hands). What do they enjoy looking at? Do they recognise the object, scene, or pet in your drawing/model? Do you have to explain anything? If so, what?

– Ask a different or the same friend(s) to explore your drawing/model using both their hands and their eyes. What do they enjoy exploring? Do they recognise the object, scene, or pet in your drawing/model? Did you have to explain anything? If so, what?

 

See: Drawing pictures with and without vision

 

19) Find a small sculpture, tapestry, painting, or something similar that you are allowed to touch. Explore the piece by touch alone (no vision).

– What parts of your hands and fingers do you use?

– What do you do – how do you explore the piece?

– What did you enjoy and not enjoy touching, and why?

– What can you not make full sense of, and why?


Put the piece down.

– What do you remember paying attention to, and why?


Using vision.

– Find the features you enjoyed and did not enjoy touching. How do they appear to vision?

– Find the features you could not make full sense of by touch. Do you get any help from vision? Why/why not?

– What parts do you enjoy and not enjoy seeing, and why? How do they appear to touch?

– What can you not make full sense through vision, and why? Do you get any help from touch? Why/why not?


Hide or turn away from the piece.

– What do you remember paying attention to, and why?

 

20) Find a large sculpture, tapestry, painting, or something similar that you are allowed to touch. Explore the piece by touch alone (no vision).

– What parts of your hands, fingers, arms, and spine do you use?

– What do you do – how do you explore the piece? Are you ”dancing with the sculpture”, and why/why not?

– What do you enjoy and not enjoy touching, and why?

– What can you not make full sense of through vision, and why?


Turn away from the piece.

– What do you remember paying attention to, and why?


Using vision.

– Find the features you enjoyed and did not enjoy touching. How do they appear to vision?

– Find the features you could not make full sense of by touch. Do you get any help from vision? Why/why not?

– What parts do you enjoy and not enjoy seeing, and why? How do they appear to touch?

– What can you not make full sense of through vision, and why? Do you get any help from touch? Why/why not?


Turn away from the piece.

– What do you remember paying attention to, and why?

 

21) Get a friend to find a sculpture, tapestry, painting, or something similar that you are allowed to touch (any size). Ask your friend to describe the piece and, at the same time, explore it by touch alone (no vision). Do not interrupt your friend during their (audio-)description.

– Did you find everything your friend described? Why/why not?

– Did you need different or more descriptions? Why/why not?


Now, get your friend to find a different sculpture, tapestry, painting, or something similar that you are allowed to touch (any size). Ask your friend to describe the piece and, at the same time, explore it by touch alone (no vision). You may stop your friend whenever you like to ask questions or to give you more time to explore.

– Did you find everything your friend described? Why/why not?

– Did you need different or more descriptions? Why/why not?


Get your friend to find yet another sculpture, tapestry, painting, or something similar that you are allowed to touch (any size). Ask your friend to describe the piece and, at the same time, explore it by touch alone (no vision). Also, ask your friend to take your hands and guide them to everything they describe. Do not interrupt your friend during their (audio-)description and hand-guiding.

– Did you enjoy having your hands guided? Why/why not?

– Did you need different or more descriptions? Why/why not?

– What would you have wanted differently, and why?

 

See: A Feel for Art

 

22) Ask a friend to snap their fingers – sometimes one hand and sometimes both; sometimes standing still and sometimes moving around. Close your eyes and listen to the snapping fingers.

– Where is your friend – to the left, right, behind, or in front of you?

– Is your friend standing still or moving?

– Is your friend moving towards or away from you?

– What hand(s) does the snapping sound come from?

– At what height is your friend snapping their fingers – in line with, above, or below your ears?

 

23) Go to a busy parking lot or intersection. Close your eyes and listen (no vision).

– Who or what is moving – cars, bikes, passersby, leaves blowing in the wind, etc.?

– Where are they moving to and from?

– How far away are they?

– What size are they?

– What texture are they?


Now open your eyes and block your ears. Repeat the activity.

– Who or what is moving – cars, bikes, passersby, leaves blowing in the wind, etc.?

– Where are they moving to and from?

– How far away are they?

– What size are they?

– What texture are they?


Finally, repeat the activity using both hearing and vision.

– Who or what is moving – cars, bikes, passersby, leaves blowing in the wind, etc.?

– Where are they moving to and from?

– How far away are they?

– What size are they?

– What texture are they?


– What did you experience when using hearing alone, vision alone, and the two senses together?

 

24) Close your eyes and ask a friend to remove all soft furnishing from a room, for example, all towels and mats from a bathroom with tiled floor and/or walls. Then, enter the room (no vision). Make a sound (e.g., snapping your fingers) if necessary.

– How big is the room?


Still keeping your eyes closed, ask your friend to put the soft furnishing back in its place.

– What happened to the size of the room?


Next, blur your vision (e.g., by wearing a pair of glasses wrapped in layers of cling film, adding steam, or something similar) and ask your friend to remove all the soft furnishing from a different room with hard surfaces.

– How big is the room?


Still keeping your vision blurred, ask your friend to put the soft furnishing back in its place.

– What happened to the size of the room?


Finally, enter the two rooms again with full vision (and hearing). Again, ask your friend to remove all the soft furnishing.

– How big is the room?


Ask your friend to put the soft furnishing back in its place.

– What happened to the size of the room?

 

See: Crossmodal brain plasticity and empowering of sensory abilities

 

25) Ask a friend to play single tones on any instrument.

– What colour is each tone?

– What shape is each tone?


How does your friend link colour and shape to each done, if at all?

 

26) Listen to different kinds of music – jazz, pop, metal, soul …

– Draw what you hear using different colours, shapes, or both.

 

27) Listen to this and draw what you hear using different colours, shapes, or both.

– Do you link colours and/or shapes to this music as here or here?

 

See: On the intriguing association between sounds and colours

 

28) Close your eyes and block your sense of smell (e.g., with a nose clip). Ask a friend to find a piece of fruit or cake and describe only the colour and smell of it.

–  Did your friend’s description evoke any emotions and, if so, what? Why/why not?

–  How do you expect the fruit/cake to taste?

–  Would you enjoy tasting the fruit/cake? Why/why not?


Remove the nose clip and taste a piece of the fruit/cake (with your eyes still closed).

– Did it taste like you expected? Why/why not?

– Is tasting the fruit/cake different from your friend’s description of it? Why/why not?


Now, open your eyes and taste another piece of the fruit/cake.

– Did it taste differently? Why/why not?

 

29) Ask a friend to tell you about a piece of music or visual art work that they (a) really love, (b) really hate, and (c) do not have any strong feelings about (without you hearing/seeing it).

– Which description did you enjoy the most? Why?

– Which description was the most informative? Why?

– Which description did you dislike the most? Why?


– What do you feel about hearing/seeing each piece of music/visual art work?


Now hear/see each piece of music/visual art work that your friend described. Did they evoke the emotions you expected? And, did they sound/look like you thought they would? Why/why not?

 

30) Together with a friend, agree on a piece of music or visual art work that you both will write an audio-description for. Work individually on your audio-description.

– Compare texts. What was similar and what was different?


Alternatively, compare your text with one created by an AI chatbot.

 

See: AI and the Aesthetic Enjoyment of Visual Art without Vision

 

31) Close your eyes and turn on the television. Now try to remember or imagine the face of the person you hear talking (for example, presenting the news). When you have a clear image of their face in your mind, open your eyes. How well did you remember/imagine their face?

 

32) Think about someone you know. What does their voice sound like when you phone them – happy, annoyed, warm, cold, clear …? Now phone them. How well did you remember/imagine their voice?

 

33) Think about a tree you know of – just any tree. What does it look like, what does it feel like when you touch it, how does it sound, and how does it smell? Either audio-record or write down all that you can remember or imagine, but be clear on what you remember and what you imagine. Now, go find the actual tree. How well did you remember/imagine it? Were there any differences between the senses and, if so, what?

 

See: Decay and maintenance of sensory memories

 

34) Close your eyes and ask a friend to walk into and move around in the room.

– Point to where your friend is moving. If this is difficult, ask them to snap their fingers. Can you do it – why/why not?


Now, ask one more friend to walk into and walk around in the room.

– Point to where they are moving. Again, if this is difficult, ask them to snap their fingers. Can do you it – why/why not?


If this was easy, add more friends until you are no longer able to tell them apart. Then open your eyes. Can you tell them apart and point to them now – why/why not?

 

35) Soak a tissue in vinegar, perfume, hairspray, or something else that you are not allergic to and eat some chocolates with:

– the tissue right under your nose

– your sense of smell blocked (e.g., with a nose clip)

– your sense of smell intact (i.e., with no tissue and no nose clip)


What was the difference in how the chocolates tasted, if any?

 

36) Shake hands with a friend. Change the firmness of your grip and pay attention to how your friend reacts. Now, try the same with your eyes closed. Were there any differences and, if so, what?

 

See: Multisensory processing

 

Cover a pair of glasses with a piece of paper, layers of cling film, or something similar: leaving only a small hole open for seeing, and your ears with hearing protectors such as a pair of headphones or earmuffs. Ask a friend to come with you and agree on some haptic signs that they will use to warn you about cars, bikes, and other people moving towards you, red house, somebody smiling at you, birdsong, etc. The signs could be as simple as taps or lines on your shoulder.


37) With your friend, go to a busy crossing, parking lot, or shopping centre. Put on your glasses and earphones and ask your friend to find a spot for you to stand (or if you feel safe walk a little, with your friend guiding you). Now, without your friend giving you any haptic signs:

– Search for something red. What did you find?

– Search for moving sounds. What did you find?

– Are there any walls around you? How far away are they?

– What is the texture under your feet?


Describe to your friend where you are and what is going on.

 

38) Put on your glasses and hearing protectors and ask your friend to find a different spot for you to stand (or if you feel safe walk a little, with your friend guiding you). Now, with your friend giving you haptic signs (e.g., left, right, up, and down):

– Search for something red. What did you find?

– Search for moving sounds. What did you find?

– Are there any walls around you? How far away are they?

– What is the texture under your feet?


Describe to your friend where you are and what is going on.

 

39) With your friend, go to a place where you enjoy spending time, like the sea, a concert, or the forest. Put on your glasses and hearing protectors, stand still or sit down, and ask your friend to give you haptic signals if somebody seeks your attention.

– What do you experience through any or all of your senses?

– What experiences give you pleasure, and why?


Walk a little, with your friend guiding you. Does this change your experience and, if so, how?

 

See: Using the senses when vision and hearing are impaired

 

40) Find two types of food (fruits or sweets) – one you love and one you dislike. Take a bite of the one you dislike first.

– What is it that you dislike – how it smells, how it looks, how it sounds when you chew, how it feels, how warm/cold it is, and/or how it tastes?


Now, take a bite of the food (fruits or sweets) you love.

– What is it that you love – how it smells, how it looks, how it sounds when you chew, how it feels, how warm/cold it is, and/or how it tastes?


– What made you love one and dislike the other?

 

41) Try eating in the dark and/or wearing hearing protectors such as a pair of headphones or earmuffs. Ask a friend to serve you some food (fruits or sweets), without telling you what they are.

– How do they smell?

– Based on the smell alone, what do you expect to taste and feel when eating them? How do you expect it will sound when chewing?


Now (without ear protectors), take a bite of the food (fruits or sweets).

– Is the feel like you expected, and why/why not?

– Is the taste like you expected, and why/why not?

– Does it sound like you expected, and why/why not?


Take another bite.

– How do you expect it will look?


Switch on the light and take another bite.

– Does it look like you expected, and why/why not?

– Does it smell, taste, and sound differently with the light on? If so, how?

 

42) Visit a food market, a bakery, or somewhere else with a variety of scents that you enjoy. Take the time to really smell them. For each scent:

– What do you feel?

– Do you remember something specific and, if so, what?

 

See: Food for thought: taste, smell and flavour

 

43) Together with some friends, smell different scents (e.g., flowers, antibacterial handwash, and the clothes one of you wore at the gym this week). Also, include one scent each that the others do not know what is. For each scent:

– What do you feel about smelling them: 1 worried; 2 neutral; 3 exited?


Now, smell the scents.

– Describe the scents amongst you. Score your descriptions as 1 detailed, 2 some details, or 3 not detailed.

– How did the score of your description correspond to your score before smelling the scents: 1 not at all; 2 somewhat; 3 very well? (See How anxious individuals perceive odours.)

 

44) Think about something you find unpleasant (e.g., a snake or spider, getting the flu vaccine, going to the dentist, and sitting an exam). For each experience:

– What makes this experience unpleasant (for hearing, smell, taste, touch, and vision), and why?

 

45) Together with some friends, think of some scents that you like and dislike.

– What scents did you like and dislike, and were they the same for everyone?

– What memories did they retrieve? Were they similar or dissimilar to your friends’ memories, and how?

 

See How anxious individuals perceive odours

 

46) Ask a friend to play some music. Close your eyes and listen.

– Tell your friend what you feel when listening to this music; for example, agitated, happy, pleasure, or nothing at all.

– Ask your friend to tell you why they chose this music. What emotions does your friend describe – how are they similar to or different from yours?

 

47) Look at a photo or painting, or listen to a scene from a movie (but without seeing it) or outside your window (but without seeing it).

– What flavours, sounds/visual information, scents, and tactile information would you add and why – what emotions would you like other people to describe?

 

48) Put on a blindfold and ask your friend to choose a place (without telling you what place) and guide you there. Listen to the sounds.

– Describe what emotions you feel.

– Describe or name the sounds you hear.

– Now that you have described or named the sounds, what emotions do you feel and are they the same as before? If they are different, how?

 

See: Emotional perceptions associated with sound environments

 

49) Think of the house you grew up in; or your grandparents’ house. What are your most prominent sensory memories from it? Do you have memories from all the senses and, if not, which senses are not included in your memories?

 

50) Try to imagine a purple dragon and Paddington Bear bombarding each other with snowballs.

– What information did you use to create a mental image of this scene?

– What sensory information did you include – auditory, smell, tactile, taste, and/or visual?

 

51) Sit down somewhere in your living room or kitchen. Close your eyes and cover your ears with hearing protectors such as a pair of headphones or earmuffs. Now stand up and walk to the bathroom. At the bathroom door, open your eyes and remove your hearing protectors.

– How did you decide when to stop – that you had found the bathroom door?

– How accurate were you?

 

Now, close your eyes again and put on your hearing protectors. Walk back to where you had been sitting in the living room or kitchen. At your seat, open your eyes and remove your hearing protectors.

– How did you decide when to stop – that you had found your seat?

– How accurate were you?

 

See: Visual memories and sensory experiences

 

52) Pick a colour – just any colour – and describe it to a friend without naming it.

– How did you describe the colour – through your other senses, through what it does, for example, attracting your attention, and/or through how it makes you feel, for example, relaxed?

– Ask your friend to name the colour you just described.

 

53) Together with a friend, look at two identical photos: one version in colour and one in black and white. Before looking at them, decide who will explore which version. The one who has the photo in black and white starts by telling what colours they imagine for the different elements in the photo. Then, the one who has the photo in colours describes what colours are actually on these elements.

– On which elements did your descriptions correspond, and on which elements did they not?

 

54) Together with a friend, tell each other what sensory information you associate with red, grey, ochre, fuchsia, white, and mint or any other colour you like.

– On which colours did you have the same and on which did you have different associations.

 

See: Colours without vision

 

55) Why do you “love or hate” wearing VR headsets?

 

56) Together with a friend, explore a painting, a photo, or a room. Or watch visual works of art come alive in virtual reality. What sensations would you include if you were creating the Virtual Reality of them, and why?

– Auditory?

– Flavour?

– Scents?

– Tactile?

– Visual?

 

57) If you were asked to simulate the feeling of an object or a hug, what tactile and kinaesthetic sensations would you include, and why?

 

See: Touching the Future: Exploring Haptics and Multisensory Experiences in Virtual Reality

 

 

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