Sensory rooms are something that are often not seen in university settings. They are usually found in grades K-12. Jill Steele, director of Diverse Abilities and Accommodations at Vincennes University, realized that these types of rooms are also beneficial on college campuses and worked to bring this new feature to VU.

Some people may ask what is the purpose of a sensory room? 

“Sensory rooms are therapeutic environments designed to provide unique and personalized sensory input. Sensory rooms create a safe space for individuals to improve the development of thought, intelligence and social skills,” Steele said.

The rooms that are available are a calming room and a stimulating room. 

The rooms are located in the Learning Resource Center – Rooms 138 and 139. They can be reserved by students, faculty, and staff. They are very interesting rooms with many different things that visitors can go in and work with or relax with. 

In the stimulating room there is an interesting honeycomb feature that if you tap it, it will change colors. It will keep your attention and make you think about all the different color combinations. The room also has many other things to keep someone entertained for a little while. 

In the calming one is a feature that lights up and plays relaxing music to calm a person.  

“The calming room offers muted shades, calm colors, and quiet activities,” Steele said. “The stimulating room offers bright colors, physically engaging activities and the activities in the room create much louder sounds. The best way I can describe the calming room is it’s like going to the beach to relax. The stimulating room is more like going to an arcade where you are actively participating to expend extra energy.” 

Students seem to like the sensory rooms, which have been open for a few weeks, and people are starting to flow in, mentioned Steele. 

Visit the Learning Resource Center to learn more about the sensory rooms.