Discovering through the senses
We perceive and understand our surroundings through the information provided by our senses. Looking, touching, listening, comparing and noticing changes allow us to discover properties such as colour, shape, texture, sound, transparency, movement or contrast.
Sensory exploration can begin with something as simple as noticing that an object changes when we move it, that two surfaces feel different or that light transforms the appearance of a material. There is no need for a predetermined result: observing, experimenting and discovering are already part of the activity.
What you will find here
This category brings together resources that encourage active sensory exploration and perceptual discovery, from very simple experiences to activities that involve comparing, discriminating, relating or recognising different stimuli.
You will find:
- Resources for exploring colours, shapes, light, movement and visual effects.
- Materials and objects with different textures, surfaces and tactile properties.
- Resources for discovering and comparing sounds.
- Objects that change their appearance or behaviour when manipulated.
- Materials combining several sensory qualities in the same activity.
- Resources for observing differences, similarities, contrasts and changes.
The same material can offer very different experiences depending on how it is presented and on the person exploring it. It can be observed, touched, moved, compared or combined with other resources, adapting the activity from the simplest sensory discovery to more elaborate perceptual tasks.
The aim is to provide opportunities to notice, explore, compare and discover the world through sensory experience.
