Sensory Engagement in Museums and Galleries: Using the Five Senses and TimeSlips-Inspired Activities

This module helps future Senior Cultural Ambassadors design, adapt and facilitate simple five-senses-based activities in museums, galleries and other cultural spaces. It shows how sensory prompts, open-ended questions and TimeSlips-inspired facilitation can support curiosity, close observation, imagination, participation and shared cultural engagement without requiring formal art knowledge.

The module is practical and designed for adults aged 55+, adult educators working with older learners, and museum or gallery educators who want to make cultural learning more active, welcoming, inclusive and meaningful

●       Understand how sensory engagement can make museum and gallery visits more meaningful and participatory for older learners. 

●       Recognise how sight, sound, touch, smell and taste-related associations can be used safely and respectfully in cultural learning. 

●       Learn how to select and prepare simple sensory prompts connected with artworks, objects and cultural spaces. 

●       Practise creating and using open-ended sensory questions that incorporate selected TimeSlips-inspired principles such as imagination, acceptance and failure-free participation.

●       Design and adapt short five-senses-based activities that Senior Cultural Ambassadors can support or co-facilitate.

·         Respect for different responses: participants may notice, imagine and connect with cultural objects in different ways.  

·         Invitation without pressure: participants may speak, write, point, choose a card, listen or decide not to respond.  

·         Curiosity instead of expertise: sensory engagement values noticing and imagination rather than correct art-historical knowledge.  

·         Acceptance and supportive facilitation: contributions are acknowledged without correction, while different ideas are allowed to exist together.  

·         Adaptability and careful boundaries: activities should be adjusted to participants’ comfort, abilities and energy, while remaining cultural and educational rather than therapeutic or diagnostic.

Museums and galleries are often experienced mainly through looking. Visitors are invited to observe paintings, sculptures, photographs, historical objects, architecture or exhibition spaces. For some seniors, this can be enjoyable. For others, it can feel passive, tiring or intimidating, especially if they believe they need expert knowledge to understand what they see.

Sensory engagement offers another way in. It invites participants to notice colours, shapes, textures, sounds, spaces, memories, smells, tastes and bodily sensations connected with the cultural experience. The goal is not to touch original museum objects or to analyse art formally. The goal is to create more routes for attention, connection and participation.

The five senses can be used directly or indirectly. For example, participants may look at the texture of a painted surface, listen to the soundscape of a gallery, hold a safe handling object, smell a small scent card connected with a historical period, or imagine the taste of a meal shown in a painting. These small sensory openings can help seniors feel that they are allowed to respond personally and creatively.

Multisensory museum practices may combine visual observation with sound, smell, safe handling materials and imaginative sensory associations (Ucar, 2015; D’Andrea et al., 2022).

This module also incorporates selected TimeSlips-inspired principles, particularly open-ended invitation, imagination, acceptance and failure-free participation. Within museum and gallery learning, these principles provide a supportive frame for sensory exploration and encourage participants to respond without pressure to recall facts or provide a single correct interpretation.

This approach is informed by TimeSlips practices that replace pressure to remember with opportunities to imagine and respond to open-ended prompts (TimeSlips Creative Storytelling, 2019).

Future Cultural Ambassadors can use these tools to support peers during visits, help groups slow down and notice more, invite simple responses, and co-create short cultural activities that feel friendly, respectful and accessible.

The five senses provide the entry point. Open-ended, TimeSlips-inspired facilitation provides the participation frame. Together, they help seniors move from “I do not know enough” to “I can notice, imagine and contribute”. 

Observation is important in museums and galleries, but observation is only one part of experience. A visitor may look at an object, but also sense the space around it, hear the sounds of the room, imagine the texture of the material, remember a similar object from home, or feel a mood created by light, colour and scale.

For senior learners, sensory engagement can be especially useful because it allows participation without requiring specialist vocabulary. A participant can say, “This colour feels warm,” “The room sounds calm,” or “This object reminds me of my grandmother’s kitchen.” These responses are valid cultural learning responses, even when they are not formal art analysis.

Research on museum programmes involving older adults indicates that accessible, creative and object-based activities can support engagement, learning, social interaction and psychological wellbeing (Todd et al., 2017; Thomson et al., 2018).

Research on object handling also suggests that combining visual, tactile and verbal engagement may support learning, wellbeing and social inclusion among older adults <…> (D’Andrea et al., 2022).

Cultural Ambassadors are not expected to replace museum educators. Their value is different. They can help peers feel more comfortable, slow down the visit, notice details, and invite gentle participation. These principles correspond with practice guidance developed through the Museums on Prescription project for working with older people in museums (Veall et al., 2017).

A sensory approach gives Ambassadors practical tools that are easy to learn and easy to adapt.

• They can ask simple sensory questions while standing near an object.

• They can prepare small handling materials or prompt cards with museum staff.

• They can support quieter participants by offering several ways to respond.

• They can help the group connect the exhibition with lived experience without forcing personal disclosure.

Senior-friendly principle

Start with noticing, not explaining. A simple sensory observation can open the door to confidence, conversation and curiosity.

Mini example

Instead of starting with “This painting belongs to the Impressionist period”, the facilitator may begin with: “What is the first colour your eyes notice?” or “If this picture had a sound, would it be quiet or loud?” After a few responses, factual information can be added in small portions.

This section presents five sensory access points and explains how they can be used safely and imaginatively in museums and galleries.

Each sense can offer a different way of connecting with an artwork, object or cultural space. An activity does not need to involve all five senses; one clear sensory focus is often enough.

Sensory engagement does not always require participants to physically experience a sound, texture, smell or taste. In museums and galleries, some senses can be used directly, while others are explored through safe materials, associations or imagination. Understanding this difference helps Cultural Ambassadors choose prompts that are meaningful, practical and appropriate for the setting.

Museum-based multisensory practices demonstrate how replicas, sound, smell and other sensory materials can provide additional ways to engage with collections without touching original artworks (Ucar, 2015).

Figure 1.: Direct and Indirect Sensory Use

Sensory engagement should always respect the collection, the venue and participants’ personal boundaries.

·         Never touch original artworks or collection objects unless museum staff explicitly permits it.

·         Use approved replicas, handling objects or material samples when touch is included.

·         Avoid strong scents and always allow participants to decline scent-based activities.

·         Do not use food unless allergies, hygiene requirements and venue regulations have been considered.

·         Keep sensory prompts simple. Too many stimuli at once may become tiring or confusing.

·         Offer different ways to participate: participants may speak, point, write, choose a card or simply listen.

Sensory activities should always follow the collection-care and visitor-safety requirements of the museum or gallery in which they are used. Guidance on working with older museum participants also emphasises comfort, choice, clear communication and adaptable participation (Veall et al., 2017).

Practical tip

A small sensory kit can include fabric samples, wooden pieces, smooth stones, scent cards in closed envelopes, sound links on a phone, large-print prompt cards and clean wipes. It should be approved by the museum or gallery before use.

A sensory prompt is a small stimulus or question that helps participants notice and respond. It should be simple, respectful and connected with the artwork, object or space.

These principles reflect museum guidance that emphasises accessible, participant-centred activities connected with museum objects and collections (Veall et al., 2017).

Good prompts do not overwhelm the group. They open one clear route into experience.

A short preparation process helps the Cultural Ambassador keep the activity focused, safe and manageable.

Figure 2: Prompt Preparation Checklist

The following examples show how sensory prompts can be connected with different types of cultural material. The wording may be adapted to the group and setting.

Practical museum outreach examples demonstrate how replicas, textures, scents and other accessible materials can support sensory engagement with museum collections (Crawford, 2022).

Preparing for emotional safety

Sensory prompts may evoke personal memories or associations (D’Andrea et al., 2022). This can be positive, but it can also become sensitive. The Cultural Ambassador should not push for details. A person may simply say “This reminds me of home” and stop there. That is enough.

• Do not ask participants to explain private memories if they do not want to.

• Avoid questions such as “Why did this make you sad?”

• Use gentle alternatives: “Would you like to say more, or shall we move on?”

• Keep the group focused on cultural engagement, not therapy.

Open-ended sensory questions invite participants to notice, imagine and contribute without needing factual knowledge or one correct answer. This reflects the TimeSlips emphasis on replacing the pressure to remember with the freedom to imagine (TimeSlips Creative Storytelling, 2019). They are especially useful for seniors who may feel uncertain about whether they “understand art” or know enough about museums.

A good open-ended question should be:

• easy to understand;

• connected with the artwork, object or space;

• broad enough to allow different responses;

• focused enough not to confuse participants;

• answerable through observation, imagination or association;

• possible to respond to through words, gestures, cards, writing or silence.

The question should not simply be broad. It should also invite sensory noticing or imagination.

These starters can be adapted to different artworks, objects and spaces:

Figure 3: Useful Question Starters

The facilitator’s response is as important as the question. If the response sounds evaluative, participants may become silent. If the response is accepting, more people may feel safe to contribute (TimeSlips Creative Storytelling, 2019).

Figure 4 presents a simple sequence for facilitating a short sensory discussion, beginning with quiet observation and ending with an appreciative closing.

Open-ended sensory questions are an important starting point, but a failure-free activity involves more than asking a good question. It also depends on how participation is introduced, how contributions are received and how individual ideas are brought together into a small shared result.

In this module, selected TimeSlips-inspired principles are used to help Cultural Ambassadors create low-pressure sensory activities in which participants can notice, imagine and contribute without needing to recall facts or provide one correct interpretation.

TimeSlips is a creative engagement approach that places imagination, expression and participation before factual recall (TimeSlips Creative Storytelling, 2019). In this module, selected principles are incorporated into sensory activities for museums and galleries.

These principles include:

• open-ended invitation;

• imagination instead of memory testing;

• acceptance of different responses;

• several ways to participate;

• building on participants’ contributions;

• appreciation rather than evaluation.

Together, these principles help Cultural Ambassadors create low-pressure activities in which participants can notice, imagine and contribute without needing specialist knowledge or one correct answer.

Important clarification

This chapter incorporates selected principles associated with the TimeSlips approach and adapts them to short sensory engagement activities in museums and galleries. The activity structures and examples presented here are MUGArtS adaptations, not official TimeSlips session formats.

An open-ended question alone does not make an activity failure-free. The facilitator should also offer a gentle invitation, allow different ways to participate, acknowledge participants’ contributions and bring their ideas together in a small shared result. These principles are incorporated into the complete activity structure presented in Section 8.1.

In a TimeSlips-inspired activity, the facilitator does more than accept an answer and move on. When appropriate, they help participants develop or connect their ideas.

This is sometimes described through the principle of “yes, and…”. “Yes, and…” is identified by TimeSlips as a core principle for affirming contributions and supporting further creative engagement (TimeSlips Creative Storytelling, 2021).

The facilitator does not need to use these exact words. The principle means:

1. acknowledging the contribution;

2. keeping the idea present;

3. inviting another idea or detail.

Example

Participant: “I can hear a storm.”
Facilitator: “A storm. That gives the painting a powerful atmosphere. What other sound might be part of it?”

Another participant may add:

“A window moving in the wind.”

The facilitator may then ask:

“Would that sound feel close or far away?”

This helps the group build a shared sensory environment without deciding which answer is correct.

Useful ways to build on an idea include:

• “What else could belong here?”

• “Would that feel near or far away?”

• “Could that sound be soft or strong?”

• “Does anyone have an idea that could go with this?”

• “Let us keep both possibilities.”

Not every response needs a follow-up question. Building on ideas should remain gentle and natural.

A failure-free sensory activity remains structured, but success does not depend on memory, specialist knowledge or verbal confidence. Its main principles are summarised in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Failure-free Sensory Activity

In addition:

• the activity should not require names, dates or specialist terminology;

• participants should always be able to pass without explaining why.

For a complete review before using an activity, refer to the Quality Checklist in Figure 7.

A Cultural Ambassador may invite participants to imagine sounds connected with a landscape painting by asking:

“If we stepped into this painting, what sound might we hear?”

Different responses – such as wind, water, birds, footsteps, voices or silence – are accepted and recorded without correction. The group may arrange the contributions into a simple sound map and create a shared title. This example demonstrates how an open-ended sensory question can lead to a failure-free shared result. A complete step-by-step version is provided in Activity 2: Soundtrack of an Artwork.

A good sensory engagement activity for Cultural Ambassadors should be short, clear and adaptable. It should work in a real museum or gallery visit where time, space, group energy and accessibility conditions may change.

A simple structure helps the Ambassador stay focused and makes the activity easier for participants to follow. The aim is not to include many tasks, but to create one clear sensory experience with a natural beginning, middle and end.

No two groups or museum visits are the same. Participants may have different levels of energy, confidence, mobility, vision or hearing, while the cultural space itself may be busy, noisy or difficult to use. Adaptation means changing the activity without losing its main sensory focus.

These adaptations reflect good-practice recommendations for making museum programmes more comfortable, accessible and responsive to the needs of older participants (Veall et al., 2017).

A short planning process can prevent confusion and help the activity feel natural. Cultural Ambassadors do not need to prepare a detailed lesson plan, but they should know what they want participants to notice, how they will invite participation and how the activity will end.

Figure 6: Simple Planning Template for Cultural Ambassadors

Before using an activity with a group, it is useful to review it from the participant’s point of view. A strong activity should feel understandable, safe and achievable, even for someone who has never taken part in a museum learning activity before.

Figure 7: Quality Checklist Before Using an Activity

Ambassador role

The value of a Senior Cultural Ambassador lies not in expert knowledge, but in their ability to make cultural participation feel more personal and approachable. By noticing the group’s needs, asking clear questions and valuing different responses, the Ambassador helps others engage with the cultural object or space with greater confidence.

A Senior Cultural Ambassador creates a bridge between the cultural object and the people in the group.

The following case studies and practical examples show how sensory, object-based, imaginative and senior-friendly cultural engagement can be organised. They can inspire the design of local five-senses-based activities for Cultural Ambassadors.

TimeSlips is a creative engagement approach originally developed to support older adults, including people living with dementia. Instead of asking people to remember facts or give correct answers, the facilitator invites them to imagine, notice and contribute ideas.

A session usually begins with an image, object, photograph or creative prompt. The facilitator asks simple open-ended questions, such as:

What might be happening here?

What sound could belong to this scene?

What could this person be thinking?

What might happen next?

Participants may answer with a word, a short sentence, a gesture, a sound or an imaginative idea. The facilitator accepts each contribution and may write the ideas down or combine them into a shared creative result.

The main purpose is not to produce a perfect story. It is to help people feel heard, involved and connected. TimeSlips encourages facilitators to move away from testing memory and towards imagination, expression and shared participation. The organisation describes its approach as supporting engagement, relationship-building, creative expression and inclusive programming.

What Cultural Ambassadors can learn from this practice:

ask questions that allow many possible answers;

avoid testing participants’ memory;

accept words, gestures and imaginative responses;

build on participants’ ideas without correcting them;

value participation more than factual accuracy;

create a small shared result, such as a title, word cloud or sensory description.

Simple example:

A group looks at a photograph of a busy market. The facilitator asks:

What sounds might we hear?

What smells could be present?

What colours feel strongest?

What might happen next?

The group answers: voices, baskets, oranges, footsteps, spices, laughter, warm air. These words can be collected into a shared sensory description. No one needs to know the date, place or people shown in the photograph.

Source: https://www.timeslips.org

Museums on Prescription was a research-based project that connected older adults at risk of social isolation with regular museum and gallery programmes. Participants were referred through health and social care services, local authorities and third-sector organisations, and took part in weekly cultural activities rather than clinical treatment.

The sessions usually combined several elements:

• guided gallery visits;

• object handling;

• short talks by museum staff;

• collection-inspired creative activities;

• group discussion;

• informal social time and refreshments.

The project showed that older adults benefit most when museum activities are welcoming, varied and flexible. Comfortable seating, clear communication, breaks, personal contact and opportunities to socialise were considered just as important as the cultural content itself. Facilitators were encouraged to adapt activities to the group’s energy, confidence and practical needs.

Participants reported a stronger sense of belonging, renewed interest in learning, increased social and creative activity, greater confidence in visiting museums and continued cultural participation after the programme. The project also recorded improvements in psychological wellbeing during the museum sessions.

What Cultural Ambassadors can learn:
Senior Cultural Ambassadors can use museum objects as starting points for conversation, combine sensory and creative activities with social exchange, keep sessions manageable, offer participants choice and adapt the pace when the group becomes tired or needs more support.

Example:

During a museum visit, the Cultural Ambassador chooses one safe handling object or replica, such as an old kitchen tool, textile sample or travel item.

The group is invited to:

• Look at the object closely.

• Describe its shape, texture, weight or possible sound.

• Answer one open-ended question, for example:

• “What kind of place or moment could this object belong to?”

• Share one word or short association.

• Create a simple group result, such as a title or sensory word list.

For example, an old suitcase might lead to the words:

heavy, worn, train, waiting, leather, journey, goodbye, adventure.

The activity can last 10–15 minutes and does not require specialist museum knowledge. The Cultural Ambassador’s role is to encourage observation, accept different responses and help the group connect with the object in a relaxed way.

Source: Museums on Prescription: A guide to working with older people (2017). https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-08/mop-good-practice-guide.pdf

The University of Dundee Museums created a sensory backpack to bring parts of its collections into care homes and community settings. The backpack was designed to make museum objects more accessible to people who could not easily visit the museum.

It included:

• custom 3D prints;

• fabric and stone samples;

• textured canvases and brushes;

• perfumes;

• copies of paintings;

• handling objects inspired by museum collections.

The items were chosen to encourage observation, touch, conversation, memory and sensory association. For example, wooden laser-cut versions of herbarium specimens were paired with perfumes. In one care home, the scent activity brought back positive memories for a resident who had kept a large garden. The project had already reached more than 100 people when the case study was published.

What Cultural Ambassadors can learn:

A useful sensory kit does not need to contain expensive objects. Replicas, textures, images and scents can represent museum collections safely. Participants should always be allowed to choose whether they want to touch, smell, speak or simply listen. Materials should be easy to handle, easy to clean and accompanied by clear, large-print instructions.

Example

Choose one museum theme, such as plants, textiles or sculpture, and prepare a small sensory bag containing:

• one image from the collection;

• one texture sample;

• one safe handling object or replica;

• one mild scent card;

• one large-print question card.

For a botanical collection, the Ambassador might use a plant image, a wooden leaf shape, a piece of textured bark and a lavender scent card. The group could be asked:

• What do you notice first?

• Which texture feels most connected to the plant?

• What smell might belong to this place?

• Which one word would you add to the group’s sensory list?

Source: https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/sector-story/creating-a-sensory-backpack-at-university-of-dundee-museums/

Annex No. 1: Example of 5 senses cards

Annex No. 2.: Example of sounds cards

Annex No. 3.: Safe texture examples

Sensory engagement helps museums and galleries become more active, personal and welcoming learning spaces for seniors. By using sight, sound, touch, smell and taste-related associations, Cultural Ambassadors can support participation without turning the visit into a test of art knowledge. Simple sensory prompts help people notice more, respond in different ways and feel that their contribution matters.

TimeSlips-inspired principles strengthen this approach by reminding facilitators to use open-ended prompts, accept different answers and create failure-free participation. For Cultural Ambassadors, this is especially valuable: their role is to create bridges between people, artworks, objects and cultural spaces.

• Sensory engagement moves museum learning from passive looking to active experiencing.

• The five senses can be used directly, indirectly or imaginatively, depending on safety and context.

• Good sensory prompts are simple, respectful, safe and connected with the cultural object or space.

• Open-ended questions encourage participation because they do not require one correct answer.

• TimeSlips-inspired principles support imagination, acceptance and failure-free participation in sensory engagement activities.

• Senior Cultural Ambassadors can design short, adaptable activities that help peers feel confident and included.

1.      Crawford, A. (2022). On the Road to Communities. University of Dundee.
https://www.dundee.ac.uk/feature/road-communities

2.      D’Andrea, F., Dening, T., & Tischler, V. (2022). Object handling for people with dementia: A scoping review and the development of intervention guidance. Innovation in Aging, 6(5), igac043.
https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac043

3.      Museums Galleries Scotland. (2023). Creating a sensory backpack at University of Dundee Museums.
https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/sector-story/creating-a-sensory-backpack-at-university-of-dundee-museums/

4.      Thomson, L. J., Lockyer, B., Camic, P. M., & Chatterjee, H. J. (2018). Effects of a museum-based social prescription intervention on quantitative measures of psychological wellbeing in older adults. Perspectives in Public Health, 138(1), 28–38.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913917737563

5.      TimeSlips Creative Storytelling. (2019). TimeSlips storytelling program launches a creative care revolution for people living with dementia.
https://www.timeslips.org/news-post/timeslips-storytelling-program-launches-a-creative-care-revolution-for-people-living-with-dementia/

6.      TimeSlips Creative Storytelling. (2021). Get Engaged! Introducing the TimeSlips Engagement Parties.
https://www.timeslips.org/get-engaged-introducing-the-timeslips-engagement-parties/

7.      Todd, C., Camic, P. M., Lockyer, B., Thomson, L. J. M., & Chatterjee, H. J. (2017). Museum-based programs for socially isolated older adults: Understanding what works. Health & Place, 48, 47–55.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.08.005

8.      Ucar, E. (2015). Multisensory Met: Touch, smell, and hear art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/multisensory-met

9.      Veall, D., et al. (2017). Museums on Prescription: A guide to working with older people.
https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-08/mop-good-practice-guide.pdf

10.  TimeSlips Creative Storytelling. Official website and creative-engagement resources.
https://www.timeslips.org

11.  Museum-Ed. Involving the senses makes sense.
https://www.museum-ed.org/involving-the-senses-makes-sense/

12.  Museums should activate multiple senses, not just the eyeball [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1-r7CR6FsI

13.  Kids in Museums. Welcoming families with special educational needs and disabilities.
https://kidsinmuseums.org.uk/resources/welcoming-special-needs-families/